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blood through the arteries, capillaries, and veins and back to the heart. In
humans and the higher vertebrates the heart is made up of four
chambers: the right and left auricles, or atria, and the right and left
ventricles. The right side of the heart pumps oxygen-poor blood from the
cells of the body back to the lungs for new oxygen; the left side of the
heart receives blood rich in oxygen from the lungs and pumps it through
the arteries to the various parts of the body. Circulation begins early in
foetal life. It is estimated that a given portion of the blood completes its
course of circulation in approximately 30 seconds.
Pulmonary Circulation
Blood from the entire body is transported to the right auricle through two
large veins: the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava. When the
right auricle contracts, it forces the blood through an opening into the right
ventricle. Contraction of this ventricle drives the blood to the lungs. Blood
is prevented from returning into the auricle by the tricuspid valve, which
completely closes during contraction of the ventricle. In its passage
through the lungs, the blood is oxygenated, that is, saturated with oxygen;
it is then brought back to the heart by the four pulmonary veins, which
enter the left auricle. When this chamber contracts, blood is forced into the
left ventricle and thence by ventricular contraction into the aorta. The
bicuspid, or mitral, valve prevents the blood from flowing back into the
auricle, and the semi-lunar valves at the beginning of the aorta stop it from
flowing back into the ventricle. Similar valves are present in the pulmonary
artery.
Branching
The aorta divides into a number of main branches, which in turn divide
into smaller ones until the entire body is supplied by an elaborately
branching series of blood vessels. The smallest arteries divide into a fine
network of still more minute vessels, the capillaries, which have extremely
thin walls; thus, the blood is enabled to come into close relation with the
fluids and tissues of the body. In the capillaries, the blood performs three
functions: It releases its oxygen to the tissues, it furnishes to the body
cells the nutrients and other essential substances that it carries, and it
takes up waste products from the tissues. The capillaries then unite to
form small veins. The veins, in turn, unite with each other to form larger
veins until the blood is finally collected into the superior and inferior venae
cavae from which it goes to the heart, completing the circuit.
Portal Circulation
In addition to the pulmonary and systemic circulations described above, a
subsidiary to the venous system exists, known as portal circulation. A
certain amount of blood from the intestine is collected into the portal vein
and carried to the liver. There it enters into the open spaces called
sinusoids, where it comes into direct contact with the liver cells. In the liver
important changes occur in the blood, which is carrying the products of the
digestion of food recently absorbed through the intestinal capillaries. The
blood is collected a second time into veins, where it again joins the
general circulation through the right auricle. In its passage through other
organs, the blood is further modified.
Coronary Circulation
Coronary circulation is the means by which the heart tissues themselves
are supplied with nutrients and oxygen and are freed of wastes. Just
beyond the semi-lunar valves, two coronary arteries branch from the
aorta. These then break up into an elaborate capillary network in the heart
muscle and valve tissue. Blood from the coronary capillary circulation
enters several small veins, which then enter directly into the right auricle
without first passing into the vena cava.
Heart Action