Heart Form And Function

The heart is a hollow muscular organ of a conical form, placed between the lungs, and enclosed is the cavity of the pericardium.

The heart is placed obliquely in the chest; the bread attached end or base, is directed upward, backward, and to the right, and corresponds with the dorsal vertebrae, from the fifth so the eighth inclusive; the apex is directed downward, forward, and to the left, and corresponds to the space between the cartilages of the fifth and sixth ribs, three quarters of an inch to the inner side, and an inch and a half below the left nipple, or about three and a half inches from the middle line of the sternum. The heart is placed behind the lower two third of the heart lies to the heart is round and convex, directed upward and forward, and form chiefly by the right auricle and ventricle, together with a small part of the left ventricle. In posterior surface, which looks downward rather than backward, is flattened and rest upon the Diaphragm, and is formed chiefly by the left ventricle. The right or lower border is long, thin and sharp: the left or upper border short, but thick and round.

The Size of Heart
The heart, in the adult, measure five inches in length, three inches and a half in breadth in the broadest part, two inches and a half in thickness. The prevalent weight, in the male, varies from ten to twelve ounces; in the female from eight to ten; its proportions to the body being as 1 to 169 in males; 1 to 149 in females. The heart continue increasing in weight, and also in length, breadth and thickness, up to an advance period of life; this increase is more marked is men than in women.