A Thin Line Trivia Quiz

Answer: four

The average human heart has four chambers. The right side of the heart has the right atrium on top leading to the right ventricle. The left side of the heart has the left atrium on top leading to the left ventricle. Typically you would not have a opening between the two atria or the two ventricles.

Different types of animals have different numbers of chambers in the heart. Mammals, which includes humans, have four chambers. Reptiles and amphibians have three chambers--two atriums and one ventricle through which both oxygenated and deoxygenated blood passes. Fish have two chambered hearts, with one atrium and one ventricle.

Answer: Pulmonary artery

The pulmonary arteries carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle to the lungs where it receives a new supply of oxygen which it takes to the left atrium and ventricle and from there out to the rest of the body.

The carotid artery carries blood to the head and neck. The radial arteries carry blood to the lower arms The descending artery is part of the aorta which is how blood leaves the left ventricle. The aorta is the largest artery in the human body.

Answer: five to six quarts

The five to six quarts of blood in the average adult human accounts for approximately seven percent of body weight. Human blood is about fifty-four percent plasma (a watery solution), forty-five percent red blood cells (which have hemoglobin and distribute oxygen throughout the body), and slightly less than one percent white blood cells (which fight off infections).

By comparison, the average elephant hase about sixty-five gallons of blood, the average cow ten gallons, and the average cat about one-half pint.

Answer: the kidneys

About twenty-two percent of the body's blood supply flows through the kidneys because of the kidney's functions in removing waste from the body. The brain, by comparison, receives about fourteen percent of the body supply. The skin receives about six percent and the bones five percent.

A large portion of the body's blood travels through the kidneys because the kidneys help to remove waste materials from various parts of the body.

Answer: Iron

The hemoglobin in your red blood cells contains iron molecules. Iron and oxygen form the compound iron oxide which is red in color. This is the same reason that rust on a piece of iron is red in color.

Octopi and some other animals have a chemical called haemocyanin in their blood which includes copper molecules. This chemical makes these animals have blood that appears blue in color. Other animals have different chemicals in their blood which leads to blood that is purple or green in color.

Answer: Arteries carry blood away from the heart and veins towards the heart

Arteries (with the exception of the pulmonary arteries) carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to various organs and other parts of the body. Capillaries bridge the gap between the arteries and the veins. Veins (with the exception of the pulmonary veins) carry deoxygenated blood back towards the heart.

Pulmonary veins carry deoxygenated blood away from the heart to the lungs where the blood is reoxygenated. Pulmonary veins carry the oxygenated blood back to the heart.

Answer: Cardiac

The heart is the only place in the human body with cardiac muscle. Smooth muscle is non-striated and moves involuntarily. It is found in the walls of many organs, among other places. Striated muscle is also called skeletal muscle and is voluntarily moved by the person.

Molluscar muscle does not exist in the human body. It is a play on the several species of bivalve molluscs known as "mussels".

Answer: The superior vena cava brings blood from the upper part of the body

In general, the superior vena cava returns blood that has circulated in the areas above the heart and the inferior vena cava returns blood that has circulated in the areas below the heart. Both are relative short veins with relatively large diameters (the superior vena cava measures about 24 mm in diameter on average).

Answer: Around the equator about four times

All but the youngest of children would have a mileage of blood vessels that would measure in the tens of thousands. The average adult has approximately 100,000 miles in blood vessels if all of the veins, capillaries, and arteries are considered. (interestingly, most blood vessels are relatively thin with some measuring less than 1 millimeter in diameter.)

The circumference of the earth at the equator is about 24,900 miles. The distance from the earth to the moon averages about 238,900 miles. The length of the Pennsylvania Turnpike is about 360 miles. The length of the average adult human's small intestine is about 20 feet.

Answer: William Harvey

The full title is "Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus" which is Latin for "An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings". Harvey drew on observations and experiments conducted in his role as a physician to come to his conclusions. William Harvey (1578-1657) was also appointed Physician Extraordinary to King James I of England in 1618.

While the other three scientists also studied the circulatory system, they did not publish "De Motu Cordis".