How do four tiny structures keep you alive?

How do four tiny structures keep you alive?

You have probably been told you have one heart. But mechanically speaking? You actually have two separate pumps working side by side.

Let's look inside. The right pump handles oxygen-poor blood, sending it to your lungs. The left pump takes that fresh blood and blasts it to your entire body. Each side has a receiving room—the atrium—and a powerhouse—the ventricle.

To keep this high-pressure traffic from crashing, four tiny doors—your heart valves—snap shut after every beat. This forces blood to flow in strictly one direction, creating that classic lub-dub sound.