A typical person has around 4-5 liters of blood. The blood is the transport system by which oxygen and nutrients reach the body's cells, and waste materials are carried away. In addition, blood carries substances called hormones, which control body processes, and antibodies to fight invading germs. The heart is the pump that keeps this transport system moving.

Your heart is about the size of your clenched fist.

It has thick muscular walls and is divided into two pumps. Each pump has two chambers.

  • The upper chamber- smaller, thin-walled atrium receives blood coming in from the veins.
  • The lower chamber- called the ventricle, has thick strong walls that contract to squeeze blood through another valve, out into the arteries.

 

The body's circulation has two parts - the heart acting as a double pump.

  1. Blood from the right side pump is dark red ( bluish) and low in oxygen. It travels along pulmonary arteries to the lungs where it receives fresh supplies of oxygen and becomes bright red. It flows along pulmonary veins back to the heart's left side pump.
  2. Blood leaves the left side of the heart and travels through arteries which gradually divide into capillaries. In the capillaries, food and oxygen are released to the body cells, and carbon dioxide and other waste products are returned to the bloodstream.The blood then travels in veins back to the right side of the heart, and the whole process begins again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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