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Showing posts from October, 2011

plant cell

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system (including all vertebrates ), that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. The term cardiac (as in cardiology ) means "related to the heart" and comes from the Greek καρδιά, kardia , for "heart". The vertebrate heart is composed of cardiac muscle , which is an involuntary striated muscle tissue found only in this organ, and connective tissue . The average human heart , beating at 72 beats per minute, will beat approximately 2.5 billion times during an average 66 year lifespan. It weighs approximately 250 to 300 grams (9 to 11 oz) in females and 300 to 350 grams (11 to 12 oz) in males. [ 1 ] In invertebrates that possess a circulatory system, the heart is typically a tube or small sac and pumps fluid that contains water and nutrients such as proteins , fats , and sugars . In insects , the "heart&quo