FISH HEART The bi-chambered fish heart pumps venous blood only. It lies immediately behind the gills toward the thorax. Venous blood flows from the body tissues through two venae cavae (1+2) and the hepatic veins (3+4) to the sinus venosus(5), then into the atrium (6) and finally into the muscular ventricle(7). Ventricular contraction forces the blood into the bulbus arteriosus (8), to which the truncus arteriosus (9) with its afferent branchial arteries(10-13) is attached. the direction of blood flow is contorlled by direction of blood flow is controlled by valves arranged internally betwween the sinus venosus and the arium,between atrium and ventricle,as weel as at the junction of the vendtricles and the bulbus arteriosus at the conus arteriosus(not externally visible in the pike heart). the valve action allows the blood to flow only in the direction indicated.In the pike,the two posterior branchial arteries(12+13) arise from the truncus arteriosus as a common trunk. The venous blood release carbon-dioxide and absorbs oxygen in the capillary network of the gills. Ss arterial blood it then flows through the efferent branchial arteries and their respective branches to the capillary network of the body- supplying also the cardiac mucle via the coronary artery(14) .Oxyen is absorbed by the tissues and carbon-dioxide returned to the blood. The venous blood then returns through the veins to the sinus venosus.The medial hypobranchial artery supplies the cardiac muscle with blood already oxyenated within the gills.