Heart Structure
The heart is really two pumps stuck together. There are two chambers to each side of the heart. The first chamber is called the atrium (atria - plural) and is the smaller of the two chambers. The larger one is called the ventricle. This chamber is the more powerful of the two as it forces blood out of the heart.
The left-hand side receives deoxygenated blood from the body. The job of the left-hand side of the heart is to pump blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. As the lungs are close by the pump does not need to be very strong.
The right-hand side receives the newly oxygenated blood from the lungs and has to pump it around the rest of the body. As the distances are greater and in the case of the upper body, blood flow is against gravity, the right-hand side needs to be more powerful.
The two chambers of the heart are separated by valves that prevent the blood going the wrong way through the heart.
