Heart valves play a vital role in efficient circulation of the blood, and the details of their physical structure are related crucially to their function. However, it can be challenging for the learner to make the mental connection between anatomical structures of valves and the changing pressure gradients that the valves experience and come to an understanding of valve function. Making your own simple, inexpensive working models allows your students to visualize valve action quickly and easily, and to predict effects on function if valve structure were altered. A link to a video showing use and construction of the working valve models is given.

Keywords:
Heart valve, model, active learning
© 2014 by National Association of Biology Teachers. All rights reserved. Request permission to photocopy or reproduce article content at the University of California Press’s Rights and Permissions Web site at http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintinfo.asp.
2014
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