Heart Anatomy Quiz
Fourteen questions on the chambers, valves and vessels of the heart, most with diagrams. Front-on view: the right side of the heart is on your left. Tap an answer to see if you’re right.
Question 1 of 14
Name the highlighted chamber, the one with the thickest wall.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Left atrium
- Right atrium
- Right ventricle
- Left ventricle
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Answer: Left ventricle. The left ventricle pumps blood to the whole body, so its wall is about three times thicker than the right ventricle’s.
Question 2 of 14
Name the highlighted chamber.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Left atrium
- Right ventricle
- Right atrium
- Superior vena cava
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Answer: Right atrium. The right atrium receives blood from the body via the venae cavae. The sinoatrial (SA) node, the natural pacemaker, sits in its wall.
Question 3 of 14
Name the highlighted chamber.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Right ventricle
- Right atrium
- Pulmonary trunk
- Left ventricle
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Answer: Right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs through the pulmonary valve.
Question 4 of 14
Name the highlighted chamber.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Aorta
- Left atrium
- Right atrium
- Left ventricle
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Answer: Left atrium. The left atrium collects oxygen-rich blood from the lungs. In atrial fibrillation, clots can form in its appendage.
Question 5 of 14
Name the highlighted vessel.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Aorta
- Pulmonary trunk
- Pulmonary veins
- Superior vena cava
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Answer: Aorta. The aorta, the body’s largest artery, carries oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to the body.
Question 6 of 14
Name the highlighted vessel.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Superior vena cava
- Pulmonary trunk
- Aorta
- Left coronary artery
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Answer: Pulmonary trunk. The pulmonary trunk carries oxygen-poor blood to the lungs: an artery carrying deoxygenated blood, the classic exam trap.
Question 7 of 14
Name the highlighted vessel.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Pulmonary trunk
- Aorta
- Inferior vena cava
- Superior vena cava
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Answer: Superior vena cava. The superior vena cava brings blood back from the head, neck and arms into the right atrium.
Question 8 of 14
Name the highlighted valve, which has two cusps.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Pulmonary valve
- Aortic valve
- Mitral valve
- Tricuspid valve
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Answer: Mitral valve. The mitral (bicuspid) valve, between the left atrium and left ventricle. Its name comes from its resemblance to a bishop’s mitre.
Question 9 of 14
Name the highlighted valve.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Tricuspid valve
- Mitral valve
- Pulmonary valve
- Aortic valve
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Answer: Tricuspid valve. The tricuspid valve, between the right atrium and right ventricle. Three cusps, as the name says.
Question 10 of 14
Name the highlighted wall between the ventricles.
Heart, front view (schematic) - Myocardium of the left ventricle
- Interventricular septum
- Pericardium
- Interatrial septum
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Answer: Interventricular septum. The interventricular septum. A hole in it, a ventricular septal defect (VSD), is the most common congenital heart defect.
Question 11 of 14
Where does each heartbeat normally start?
- Bundle of His
- Purkinje fibres
- Atrioventricular (AV) node
- Sinoatrial (SA) node
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Answer: Sinoatrial (SA) node. The SA node in the right atrium fires about 60 to 100 times a minute at rest. The AV node then delays the signal so the atria can finish emptying.
Question 12 of 14
Where do the coronary arteries branch off?
- The left ventricle wall
- The arch of the aorta
- The aortic root, just above the aortic valve
- The pulmonary trunk
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Answer: The aortic root, just above the aortic valve. The left and right coronary arteries start from the aortic sinuses, just above the aortic valve cusps.
Question 13 of 14
Which vessels bring oxygen-rich blood into the left atrium?
- Pulmonary arteries
- Coronary sinus
- Pulmonary veins
- Venae cavae
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Answer: Pulmonary veins. Usually four pulmonary veins: veins that carry oxygenated blood, the mirror image of the pulmonary trunk trap.
Question 14 of 14
A blockage of which artery causes most anterior heart attacks?
- Right coronary artery
- Left anterior descending (LAD) artery
- Posterior descending artery
- Circumflex artery
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Answer: Left anterior descending (LAD) artery. The LAD supplies the front of the left ventricle and most of the septum, so blockages here tend to be large and serious.
Want one a day? Play Anatomegaly, the daily anatomy game: five body parts, four options each, new every midnight.
Common questions
What are the four chambers of the heart?
Two atria on top and two ventricles below. The right atrium and right ventricle send oxygen-poor blood to the lungs; the left atrium and left ventricle send oxygen-rich blood to the body.
How does blood flow through the heart?
Body → venae cavae → right atrium → tricuspid valve → right ventricle → pulmonary valve → pulmonary arteries → lungs → pulmonary veins → left atrium → mitral valve → left ventricle → aortic valve → aorta → body.
What are the four heart valves?
The tricuspid (right atrium to right ventricle), pulmonary (right ventricle to pulmonary trunk), mitral (left atrium to left ventricle) and aortic (left ventricle to aorta). They keep blood flowing one way; their closing makes the ‘lub dub’ of the heartbeat.
Why is the left ventricle wall thicker?
It pumps blood around the whole body at much higher pressure than the right ventricle, which only pumps to the nearby lungs. More work means more muscle.