THE HUMAN CIRCULATORY CIRCUITS

 

INTRODUCTION: The two major pathways of circulation are pulmonary and systemic. Pulmonary circulation begins at the right ventricle, and systemic circulation begins at the left ventricle. Hepatic portal circulation is a special segment of systemic circulation that will be covered separately. Fetal circulation involves pathways that are present only before birth and will also be discussed separately.

PULMONARY CIRCULATION: The right ventricle pumps blood into the pulmonary artery (or trunk), which divides into the right and left pulmonary arteries, one going to each lung. Within the lungs each artery branches extensively into smaller arteries and arterioles, then to capillaries. The pulmonary capillaries surround the alveoli of the lungs; it is here that exchanges of oxygen and carbon dioxide take place. Gaseous exchange

The capillaries unite to form venules, which merge into veins, and finally into the two pulmonary veins from each lung that return blood to the left atrium. This oxygenated blood will then travel through the systemic circulation. It should be noted that, the pulmonary veins contain oxygenated blood; these are the only veins that carry blood with a high oxygen content. The blood in systemic veins has a low oxygen content; it is systemic arteries that carry oxygenated blood.

SYSTEMIC CIRCULATION: The left ventricle pumps blood into the aorta, the largest artery of the body. The branches of the aorta take blood into arterioles and capillary networks throughout the body. Capillaries merge to form venules and veins. The veins from the lower body take blood to the inferior vena cava; veins from the upper body take blood to the superior vena cava. These two caval veins return blood to the right atrium.

THE AORTA: The aorta is a continuous vessel, but for the sake of precise description it is divided into sections that are named anatomically: ascending aorta, aortic arch, thoracic aorta, and abdominal aorta. The ascending aorta is the first inch that emerges from the top of the left ventricle. The arch of the aorta curves posteriorly over the heart and turns downward. The thoracic aorta continues down through the chest cavity and through the diaphragm. Below the level of the diaphragm, the abdominal aorta continues to the level of the 4th lumbar vertebra, where it divides into the two common iliac arteries. Along its course, the aorta has many branches through which blood travels to specific organs and parts of the body. The ascending aorta has only two branches: the right and left coronary arteries, which supply blood to the myocardium.

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