Blood Flow Through the Heart

Overview

• Blood flow begins on the right side of the heart.
• Right side deals with deoxygenated blood: low in oxygen, high in carbon dioxide.
• Goal: Send deoxygenated blood to the lungs for oxygenation.

Right Side of the Heart

• Deoxygenated blood enters via:
  • Superior vena cava
  • Inferior vena cava
• Flows into the right atrium (top chamber).
• Passes through the tricuspid valve (an atrioventricular valve) into the right ventricle.
• Blood is pushed up through the pulmonic valve (a semilunar valve) into the pulmonary artery.
• Pulmonary artery carries blood away from the heart to the lungs.

Lungs

• Deoxygenated blood loses carbon dioxide and gains oxygen in the lungs.
• Oxygenated blood returns to the heart via the pulmonary veins.

Left Side of the Heart

• Deals with oxygenated blood.
• Goal: Distribute oxygenated blood throughout the body.
• Blood enters the left atrium (top chamber).
• Moves through the bicuspid valve (mitral valve, another atrioventricular valve) into the left ventricle.
• Left ventricle pushes blood through the aortic valve (a semilunar valve) into the aorta.
• The aorta distributes oxygenated blood to the body.

Memory Aids

• Atrioventricular valves sequence: Tricuspid before Bicuspid (Try before You Buy).
• Chamber memory: Atria (A) above Ventricles (V) – alphabetical order.
• Left side mnemonic: Left = Oxygenated, Lungs, Left.
• Blood flow parts: 6 parts on the right, 6 parts on the left.
• Semilunar valves location:
  • Aortic valve near the aorta (left side).
  • Pulmonic valve near the pulmonary artery (right side).

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