Systemic circulation

Blood must always circulate to sustain life. It carries oxygen from the air we breathe to cells throughout the body. The pumping of the heart drives this blood flow through the arteries, capillaries, and veins. One set of blood vessels circulates blood through the lungs for gas exchange. The other vessels fuel the rest of the body. Read on to learn more about these crucial circulatory system functions. 1. There Are Two Types of Circulation: Pulmonary Circulation and Systemic Circulation Pulmonary circulation moves blood between the heart and the lungs. It transports deoxygenated blood to the lungs to absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide. The oxygenated blood then flows back to the heart. Systemic circulation moves blood between the heart and the rest of the body. It sends oxygenated blood out to cells and returns deoxygenated blood to the heart. 2. The Heart Powers Both Types of Circulation The heart pumps oxygenated blood out of the left ventricle and into the aorta to begin systemic circulation. After the blood has supplied cells throughout the body with oxygen and nutrients, it returns deoxygenated blood to the right atrium of the heart. The deoxygenated blood shoots down from the right atrium to the right ventricle. The heart then pumps it out of the right ventricle and into the pulmonary arteries to begin pulmonary circulation. The blood moves to the lungs, exchanges carbon dioxide for oxygen, and returns to the left atrium. The oxygenated blood shoots from the le...

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\( \newcommand\) • • • • • The cardiovascular system has two distinct circulatory paths, pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation. Key Points • The cardiovascular system is composed of two circulatory paths: pulmonary circulation, the circuit through the lungs where blood is oxygenated, and systemic circulation, the circuit through the rest of the body to provide oxygenated blood. • In the pulmonary circulation, blood travels through capillaries on the alveoli, air sacs in the lungs which allow for gas exchange. • As blood flows through circulation, the size of the vessel decreases from artery / vein, to arteriole / venule, and finally to capillaries, the smallest vessels for gas and nutrient exchange. • Systemic and pulmonary circulation transition to the opposite type of circulation when they return blood to the opposite side of the heart. • Systemic circulation is a much larger and higher pressure system than pulmonary circulation. Key Terms • alveoli: Air sacs in the lungs that provide the surface for gas exchange between the air and capillaries. • pulmonary circulation: The part of blood circulation which carries oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart. • systemic circulation: The part of blood circulation that carries oxygenated blood away from the heart, to the body, and returns deoxygenated blood back to the heart. The cardiovascular system is composed of two circulatory paths: pulmonary circulat...

Peter M. Williams Peter holds a Bachelor's degree in Microbiology and Biotechnology, and a Master's degree in Applied Microbiology. In addition, Peter has more than two years of experience in tutoring and writing academic materials for senior and junior schools, mainly in Sciences, Languages, and Humanities. • Instructor Pulmonary and Systemic Circulation The movement of the blood in all body parts is termed circulation. The blood circulation in the entire body is made possible by a powerful organ: the heart. The heart is made up of muscles that ensure blood pumping into various body regions. The heart is divided into four chambers: two on the left side and two on the right side. A septum, or muscle wall, usually separates the left and the right side of the heart. This ensures that the blood rich in oxygen (oxygenated blood) does not mix with the blood poor in oxygen or rich in carbon dioxide (deoxygenated blood). It also acts as a routing station between the pulmonary and systemic circuits. The heart's upper chambers are known as auricles and they receive blood. Auricles are also known as atria (singular- atrium). The lower chambers are the ventricles and they usually pump blood from the heart. The left ventricle muscles are much thicker than the right ventricle, since the blood in the left ventricle has to be pumped from the heart to all parts of the body. The Human Heart In most vertebrates, there are two types of circulation: pulmonary and systemic circulation. These t...