Biology Practical: Dissection of a Heart

GCSE Biology Practical - Dissection of a Heart

By dissecting a heart you are able to practically investigate the general structure of the heart, and this can give students a better understanding of the way the various blood vessels, valves, muscles and tendons come together and help make the heart function. The Heart is a pump that sends blood rich in oxygen round the body, and oxygen poor in blood through the lungs.

GCSE Biology practical - Heart Dissection

1. Have a look and a feel of the heart, determine its size and mass, and also have a go at identifying the vessels entering and leaving the heart.
   Arteries and veins look and feel different from each other. Arteries have thick rubbery walls, where veins have much thinner walls. If you feel inside the vessels you should be able to tell the difference. You can try looking inside these vessels to see if you can identify any structures.
2. Make a long cut through the Aorta and left ventricle and continue down to the tip of the heart.
3. Pull the ventricle apart, and look inside. You will now be able to see inside the Aorta, ventricle and locate the left atrium. Study all these structures and look at how they differ in appearance and texture, and think about how that difference may help their function.
4. Carefully cut upwards into the left atrium, and look carefully at the texture and structure.
5. Once you have finished with left side of the heart you can study the right side in the same way.
6. Once you have fully opened up the heart, you can examine the valves that separate the chambers, again thinking about structure and function

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