Blood Supply

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Like any other muscle of the body, the heart needs a constant blood supply to stay healthy.

It may seem like the heart has easy access to lots of blood. However, the blood passing through the chambers of the heart does not actually supply oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle. Instead, special blood vessels, called coronary arteries, branch off of the aorta and deliver blood into the heart muscle itself. If there is a problem with the coronary arteries, the heart muscle will not get enough blood, and the heart will not be able to work properly.

Select the name of the blood vessel from the list below to see a picture and a description of what it does.

Press the “FRONT VIEW” and “BACK VIEW” button to see the view of the heart from the front and back.