Pathway of blood around the body

Blood is pumped around the body of a vertebrate by the . Blood is pumped away from the heart in arteries ('a' for away) and is returned to the heart in .

In mammals the heart is a double pump. The right side pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs and the left side pumps oxygenated blood to the rest of the body tissues. This means that a red blood cell will travel through the heart twice during a complete circulation around the body.

Blood is pumped around the bodies of vertebrates by the heart.

The mammalian heart

The mammalian heart contains four chambers connected to four major blood vessels.

The right hand side has the pulmonary artery, vena cave, right atrium and right ventrical. The left hand side has the aorta, pulmonary vein, left atrium and left ventricle.

The and carry blood into the heart. Blood is carried away from the heart in the and the when the contract.

Blood vessel	Origin to destination of blood it carries
Vena cava	Body to right atrium
Pulmonary artery	Right ventricle to lungs
Pulmonary vein	Lungs to left atrium
Aorta	Left ventricle to body

Blood vessel	Vena cava
Origin to destination of blood it carries	Body to right atrium

Blood vessel	Pulmonary artery
Origin to destination of blood it carries	Right ventricle to lungs

Blood vessel	Pulmonary vein
Origin to destination of blood it carries	Lungs to left atrium

Blood vessel	Aorta
Origin to destination of blood it carries	Left ventricle to body

Flow of blood through the mammalian heart. Deoxygenated blood from the body travels through the heart to the lungs. Oxygenated blood from the lungs travels through the heart to the body. — Figure caption,
Deoxygenated blood coming from the body flows through the vena cava into the right atrium and down into the right ventricle where it is pumped to the lungs through the pulmonary artery. The blood is oxygenated in the lungs and flows back to the heart in the pulmonary vein, into the left atrium and down into the left ventricle where it is pushed up and out of the aorta to the body.

The heart contains to prevent the backflow of blood.

Coronary arteries

The heart muscle cells are supplied with blood by the arteries. These are the first arteries to branch off from the aorta. Blockage of the coronary arteries can deprive part of the heart muscle of oxygen, causing it to die. This is called a heart attack.

Revise: Transport systems - AnimalsPathway of blood around the body