Which carries blood from the right ventricle to the lungs

In systemic circulation: Next, blood that returns to the heart has picked up lots of oxygen from the lungs. So it can now go out to the body. The aorta is a big artery that leaves the heart carrying this oxygenated blood. Branches off of the aorta send blood to the muscles of the heart itself, as well as all other parts of the body. Like a tree, the branches gets smaller and smaller as they get farther from the aorta.

At each body part, a network of tiny blood vessels called capillaries connects the very small artery branches to very small veins. The capillaries have very thin walls, and through them, nutrients and oxygen are delivered to the cells. Waste products are brought into the capillaries.

Capillaries then lead into small veins. Small veins lead to larger and larger veins as the blood approaches the heart. Valves in the veins keep blood flowing in the correct direction.

Two large veins that lead into the heart are the superior vena cava and inferior vena cava. The terms superior and inferior don't mean that one vein is better than the other, but that they're located above and below the heart.

Once the blood is back in the heart, it needs to re-enter the pulmonary circulation and go back to the lungs to drop off the carbon dioxide and pick up more oxygen. How Does the Heart Beat? This is when the ventricles contract and pump blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery. During systole, the atrioventricular valves close, creating the first sound the lub of a heartbeat.

When the atrioventricular valves close, it keeps the blood from going back up into the atria. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate.

How the Heart Works. Minus Related Pages. Normal Heart. Information For…. By age 70, the human heart will beat more than 2. The heart is always working. It pumps about 2, gallons of blood daily. A child's heart works just as hard as an adult's heart.

In fact, at rest, a baby's heart may beat up to to times a minute. An adult's heart often beats between 60 and times a minute, at rest. The rate at which the heart pumps gradually slows down from birth to teen years. The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart and blood vessels. It circulates blood throughout the body. A healthy cardiovascular system is vital to supplying the body with oxygen and nutrients. The heart is divided into a right and left side, separated by a septum.

Each side has an atrium which receives blood as it enters and a ventricle from which blood is pumped out. The heart has a total of four chambers: right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium and left ventricle.

The right side of the heart collects oxygen-depleted blood and pumps it to the lungs, through the pulmonary arteries, so that the lungs can refresh the blood with a fresh supply of oxygen. The left side of the heart receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs, then pumps blood out to the rest of the body's tissues, through the aorta.

As the heart pumps blood, a series of valves open and close tightly. These valves ensure that blood flows in only one direction, preventing backflow. Each heart valve, except for the mitral valve, has three flaps leaflets that open and close like gates on a fence. The mitral valve has two valve leaflets. While the heart and lungs are the largest organs of the circulatory system, the blood vessels are the longest.

This extended network of stretchy tubes circulates blood throughout the body. Laid end-to-end, your body's blood vessels would extend about 60, miles.