Question

Which of these structures provides the muscle cells in the heart with a constant supply of oxygen?
A. the superior vena cava

B. the pulmonary artery

C. coronary arteries

D. systemic veins

Answer 1

http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/heart_and_blood_vessel_disorders/biology_of_the_heart_and_blood_vessels/heart.html
This is a good explanation of the parts of the heart. ^
There is also a diagram that shows you direction of flow in an out of the heart. Hint : a vessel pumping blood into the heart would input 'fresh' oxygenated blood.

Answer 2

the answer is B right?

Answer 3

I do believe so :)

Answer 4

I don't think B would make sense. The pulmonary arteries come from the lungs and transport that oxygenated blood into the heart, to be pumped out into the rest of the body. You're looking for blood vessels that supply the heart muscles themselves with blood. Look for vessels that are supplying the muscles on the outside, not sending blood into the chambers of the heart.

Answer 5

Well said - I agree.

Answer 6

Thank you for correcting me.

Answer 7

Although technically a case could be made for the pulmonary vessels. After all, the vessels returning blood from the lungs to the heart do carry oxygenated blood, and that blood ends up everywhere in systemic circulation.

Answer 8

Not the pulmonary arteries, though - those carry blood from heart to lungs only. But for pulmonary veins - which of course the question does not give an option - the case would stand...

Answer 9

Right, thanks for that correction. I always mix up pulmonary arteries and veins, even though I know what the difference is (toward/away from the heart...)

Answer 10

so which one is the answer

Answer 11

Process of elimination would be a wonderful way to solve this. Do you have any ideas about which on the list of options it isn't?

Answer 12

i will go with A

Answer 13

The Superior Vena Cava it isn't - that carries deoxygenated blood toward the heart. It has very little to do with supplying the heart muscles with oxygenated blood.

Answer 14

finally D

Answer 15

D it certainly isn't either.

Wherever you see the word "vein" you know you are talking about blood travelling into the heart chambers - not the tissue walls of the heart.

Answer 16

Team, that gives you a choice between pulmonary arteries and coronary arteries. The word "pulmonary" means lung. The word "coronary" means heart. So which of the two possible arteries do you think supplies the heart muscles?

Answer 17

The word "coronary" actually comes from a Latin word meaning crown (I think it has something to do with the way the coronary blood vessels look), but if you see the word, you'll know it has something to do with the heart. You may have heard of coronary disease or a coronary artery bypass.

It may also interest you to know that a heart attack happens when the coronary arteries get blocked.

Answer 18

Nice again. Aside from "coracoid" - totally unrelated to the question - I don't know much about the etymology of most anatomy terms. :)

Answer 19

I guessed (coronary sounds a lot like e.g. corona) and then looked it up. I knew that heart-related words usually involve "cardi", so it must mean something else, and the German word for coronary vessels is Herzkranzgefäße (literally "heart wreath vessels")... it turns out that corona means either crown or wreath (the kind of wreath you'd put on someone's head, I suppose), which would fit with the typical pattern of German scientific terms being literal translations of the Greek/Latin.

Answer 20

C. coronary arteries
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100418194946AAMD4qP