The left ventricle, the second pumping station of the heart, receives blood from the left atrium and pumps the blood back into the body. Located just below the left atrium, the cone-shaped left ventricle is smaller in size and has thicker walls than the right ventricle. The left atrium and ventricle are connected to each other by an atrio-ventricular orifice which is protected by the mitral valve (two-fold valve). The mitral valve is responsible for controlling blood flow between the left ventricle and left atrium. The aorta, the body's largest artery, is attached to the left ventricle to pass fresh, oxygenated blood from the heart into the rest of the body. The semilunar aortic valve controls the passage of blood between these two areas.

HEART TOUR: