Pulmonary circulation
Pulmonary Circulation
Pulmonary circulation (pronounced: pul-mon-ary cir-cu-la-tion) is the portion of the cardiovascular system which carries oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart.
Etymology
The term "pulmonary" comes from the Latin pulmonarius (of the lungs), from pulmo (lung). "Circulation" is derived from the Latin circulatio (going around), from circulare (to go around).
Process
Pulmonary circulation begins when oxygen-depleted blood is pumped from the right ventricle of the heart into the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery splits into two, carrying the blood to the lungs. In the lungs, carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen in the alveoli, tiny air sacs surrounded by capillaries. The oxygen-rich blood then returns to the heart via the pulmonary veins, entering the left atrium and then the left ventricle, ready to be pumped into the systemic circulation.
Related Terms
- Cardiovascular system: The organ system that circulates blood throughout the body, consisting of the heart and blood vessels.
- Heart: The organ that pumps blood throughout the body.
- Lungs: The pair of organs in which blood is oxygenated.
- Blood: The body fluid that delivers necessary substances to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells.
- Ventricle: One of two large chambers in the heart that collect and expel blood received from an atrium towards the peripheral beds within the body and lungs.
- Pulmonary artery: The artery carrying blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs for oxygenation.
- Alveoli: Tiny air sacs in the lungs where exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place.
- Capillaries: The smallest of the body's blood vessels, which connect arteries and veins and enable the exchange of water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other nutrients and waste substances between blood and the surrounding tissues.
- Pulmonary veins: The veins that transfer oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart.
- Systemic circulation: The part of the cardiovascular system which carries oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body, and returns deoxygenated blood back to the heart.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Pulmonary circulation
- Wikipedia's article - Pulmonary circulation
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