True or False: Blood entering the pulmonary artery passes through the mitral valve.

Blood entering the pulmonary artery does not pass through the mitral valve; therefore, the statement is false.

To understand this, it’s important to know the pathway of blood circulation. Blood from the body returns to the right atrium of the heart via the superior and inferior vena cavae. From the right atrium, it passes through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. When the right ventricle contracts, it pumps the blood through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary artery, which carries the blood to the lungs for oxygenation.

The mitral valve, on the other hand, is located between the left atrium and the left ventricle and is involved in the pathway of oxygenated blood. Blood flows from the lungs into the left atrium, then passes through the mitral valve into the left ventricle before being distributed throughout the body via the aorta. Thus, since the pulmonary artery is connected to the right heart and the mitral valve is part of the left heart system, blood does not pass through the mitral valve when moving into the pulmonary artery.