Heart Anatomy Quiz: Test Yourself on the 20 Most Tested Structures

Before you look at any answers — take 60 seconds and name as many heart structures as you can from memory. Write them down. That list tells you exactly where to focus in this article.

Heart anatomy is one of the most heavily tested topics in biology, anatomy, and nursing exams — and one of the most commonly blanked on under exam pressure. Not because students haven't studied it, but because recognizing a diagram is different from recalling from scratch.

This article is structured as an active quiz: questions first, then answers, then memorization strategies for each structure. Work through it as a true test — cover the answers, write yours, then check.

Section 1: Chambers and Walls

Quiz yourself first — cover the answers below.

Q1: How many chambers does the human heart have, and what are they called?

Q2: Which side of the heart receives oxygenated blood from the lungs?

Q3: Which chamber has the thickest muscular wall, and why?

Q4: What is the wall that separates the left and right sides of the heart called?

Q5: What is the outer membrane enclosing the heart called?

Answers:

A1: The heart has 4 chambers: right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium, left ventricle.

A2: The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins.

A3: The left ventricle — it pumps blood to the entire body through the aorta, requiring much greater force than the right ventricle, which only pumps to the lungs.

A4: The interventricular septum (between ventricles); the wall between atria is the interatrial septum.

A5: The pericardium — a double-walled sac. The inner layer is the visceral pericardium (also called the epicardium); the outer layer is the parietal pericardium.

Section 2: Valves

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Q6: Name all four heart valves.

Q7: Which valves prevent backflow from the ventricles into the atria?

Q8: Which valves prevent backflow from the great arteries into the ventricles?

Q9: What is another name for the mitral valve?

Q10: What is the function of the chordae tendineae?

Answers:

A6: The four heart valves are: tricuspid valve, pulmonary valve, mitral (bicuspid) valve, aortic valve.

A7: The atrioventricular (AV) valves: tricuspid (right side) and mitral/bicuspid (left side).

A8: The semilunar valves: pulmonary valve (right side) and aortic valve (left side).

A9: The mitral valve is also called the bicuspid valve — it has two cusps/leaflets, whereas the tricuspid has three.

A10: The chordae tendineae are tendon-like cords that anchor the AV valve leaflets to the papillary muscles, preventing them from inverting into the atria during ventricular contraction.

Section 3: Major Blood Vessels

Q11: Name the four pulmonary veins and describe what they carry.

Q12: What is the largest artery in the body, and where does it originate?

Q13: What vessel carries deoxygenated blood from the upper body to the right atrium?

Q14: What vessel carries deoxygenated blood from the lower body to the right atrium?

Q15: Name the two coronary arteries that supply the heart muscle itself.

Answers:

A11: There are four pulmonary veins (two from each lung). They carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium — notable because veins normally carry deoxygenated blood; pulmonary veins are the exception.

A12: The aorta — it originates from the left ventricle. It arches (the aortic arch) and descends through the chest and abdomen.

A13: The superior vena cava (SVC) — carries deoxygenated blood from the head, neck, arms, and upper chest.

A14: The inferior vena cava (IVC) — carries deoxygenated blood from the lower body, legs, and abdominal organs.

A15: The left coronary artery (branches into left anterior descending and circumflex arteries) and the right coronary artery.

Section 4: Electrical Conduction System

Q16: Name the heart's natural pacemaker and its location.

Q17: What is the AV node's function in cardiac conduction?

Q18: What is the Bundle of His?

Q19: What are Purkinje fibers, and what do they do?

Q20: What happens to heart rate if the SA node fails?

Answers:

A16: The sinoatrial (SA) node — located in the wall of the right atrium, near the superior vena cava. It fires ~60–100 impulses per minute, setting the normal heart rate.

A17: The AV node (atrioventricular node) delays the electrical impulse from the atria by approximately 0.1 seconds before transmitting it to the ventricles. This delay allows the atria to fully contract and empty into the ventricles before ventricular contraction begins.

A18: The Bundle of His (atrioventricular bundle) is a group of specialized cardiac muscle fibers that transmit the electrical impulse from the AV node into the interventricular septum, leading to the bundle branches.

A19: Purkinje fibers are specialized conduction fibers in the walls of the ventricles. They rapidly distribute the electrical impulse across the ventricle walls, causing coordinated, synchronized ventricular contraction from the apex upward.

A20: If the SA node fails, the AV node takes over as a backup pacemaker — but at a slower rate of 40–60 bpm. If the AV node also fails, Purkinje fibers can generate a rhythm at 20–40 bpm — enough to sustain life briefly.

How to Memorize Heart Anatomy for Exams

Use a Blood Flow Narrative

The most effective memorization technique for heart anatomy is tracing blood flow as a story:

Deoxygenated blood enters right atrium via SVC and IVC
Through tricuspid valve → right ventricle
Through pulmonary valve → pulmonary arteries → lungs
Oxygenated blood returns via pulmonary veins → left atrium
Through mitral (bicuspid) valve → left ventricle
Through aortic valve → aorta → body

Trace this pathway until you can write it from memory in under 90 seconds. Every structure in the quiz above lives somewhere on this pathway.

Memory Tricks for Commonly Confused Structures

Tricuspid vs. Mitral: "Three on the right, two on the left" — tricuspid (3 cusps) is on the right; mitral/bicuspid (2 cusps) is on the left.

Veins vs. Arteries in the Pulmonary System: Pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood; pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood. "Pulmonary veins take blood to the left heart — left is right (correct/good)."

SA vs. AV node: SA = Starts the heartbeat (pacemaker). AV = Atria to Ventricles (junction between chambers).

SVC vs. IVC: Superior = Shoulder and above. Inferior = Inferior/lower body.

Active Recall Drills

Blank diagram: Draw a heart outline, label all structures from memory
Blood flow dictation: Close your notes; narrate the full blood flow pathway aloud
Function cards: Flashcard with structure name on front, function on back
Reverse quiz: Given a function, name the structure

See: What Is Active Recall? and How to Make Flashcards That Actually Work

TikoNote: Generate Unlimited Heart Anatomy Questions

Upload your anatomy lecture notes, lab diagrams, or textbook chapter to TikoNote. The AI generates quiz questions automatically — including diagram-based questions, function questions, and blood flow sequence questions — with spaced repetition scheduling so you drill the structures you keep forgetting most.

👉 Try TikoNote free — generate your heart anatomy quiz

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 4 chambers of the heart?

The four chambers are: right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium, and left ventricle. The atria receive blood; the ventricles pump it out. The right side handles deoxygenated blood going to the lungs; the left side handles oxygenated blood going to the body.

What are the 4 heart valves?

The four heart valves are the tricuspid (between right atrium and right ventricle), pulmonary (between right ventricle and pulmonary artery), mitral/bicuspid (between left atrium and left ventricle), and aortic (between left ventricle and aorta). The AV valves (tricuspid and mitral) prevent backflow into the atria; the semilunar valves (pulmonary and aortic) prevent backflow into the ventricles.

What is the heart's natural pacemaker?

The sinoatrial (SA) node, located in the right atrium near the superior vena cava. It generates electrical impulses at a rate of 60–100 per minute under normal conditions, setting the heart rate. If the SA node fails, the AV node acts as a backup pacemaker at 40–60 bpm.

Why does the left ventricle have a thicker wall?

The left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood through the aorta to the entire body — a much larger circuit and higher resistance than the pulmonary circuit served by the right ventricle. Greater workload requires thicker muscular walls to generate sufficient pressure.

What is the difference between the pulmonary and systemic circulation?

Pulmonary circulation moves deoxygenated blood from the right heart to the lungs for gas exchange, then back to the left heart. Systemic circulation moves oxygenated blood from the left heart through the aorta to the entire body, then returns deoxygenated blood to the right heart via the venae cavae.

The Bottom Line

Heart anatomy is learnable in one focused study session — but only if you use active recall rather than reading and highlighting. Take the quiz first, check your answers, note your gaps, and drill those specifically.

Action step: Score yourself on this quiz right now. Every question you got wrong is a structure to add to your flashcard deck today.

Also read: Best Flashcard App for Students and Spaced Repetition Explained: How to Memorize Anything