• Question: Have you ever seen a heart in action?

    Asked by anon-178553 to Jordan on 12 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Jordan Moir

      Jordan Moir answered on 12 Jun 2018:

      I have seen a heart in action on a live stream of heart surgery before. I have also held and touched a human heart during an anatomy class during my degree. This was really exciting to see. This was from a person who had donated their body to science research. It is such an interesting structure and they had cut it open so we could see what the inside looks like of a heart with its different sections which the blood flows through to allow the heart to work and function correctly. You could also see the valves which control the flow of blood through the heart.

Comments

  • Photo: Jordan

    Jordan commented on :

    This is work that is currently ongoing and is highly fascinating and allows you to see what a real beating human heart is like.

  • Photo: Emma

    Emma commented on :

    I’ve seen the heart pumping and being put ‘on bypass’ so that the rest of the body can receive blood and nutrients while a heart is being operated on in an operating theatre once. I’ve also seen a heart in a box which has come in to our hospital ready for transplant! We had to do some tests to check that the heart blood vessels were ok before it could be transplanted into a new patient!

    Part of my job is also to use ultrasound to take pictures of the heart to check that it is working properly. Ultrasound is the same thing they use with pregnant women to look at the baby!