Tuesday, January 18, 2011

What is the path of blood in the Heart?

Path of Blood in the Heart 
The path of blood through the heart is traced as follows:
Blood enters the right atrium from the superior and inferior venae cavae (ve'ne ca've), the largest veins in the body. Contraction of the right atrium forces the blood through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps the blood through the pulmonary semilunar valve, which allows blood to enter the pulmonary trunk. The pulmonary trunk divides into the pulmonary arteries, which take blood to the lungs.
From the lungs, blood enters the left atrium from the pulmonary veins. Contraction of the left atrium forces blood through the bicuspid valve into the left ventricle. The left ventricle then pumps the blood through the aortic semilunar valve into the aorta (a-or'tah), the largest artery in the body. The aorta sends blood to all body tissues. No­tice that oxygen-poor blood never mixes with oxygen-rich blood and that blood must pass through the lungs before entering the left side of the heart.