Module 4 - The circulatory system

The cardiac cycle - 2

A wave of contraction then sweeps over the heart, starting in the atria and spreading to the ventricles. Blood is forced from the atria, through the atrioventricular valves into the ventricles.

As the ventricles fill, and the myocardium continues to contract, the increasing pressure in the ventricles forces the atrioventricular valves to close.

NHS