Circulatory Pathways (Nursing)

00:00 So we end this lecture by reviewing the circulatory pathways of the body.

00:06 Recall that we have two circuits of circulation.

00:10 We have pulmonary circulation, which is a short loop that runs from the heart to the lungs, and back to the heart.

00:19 Deoxygenated blood leaves the right ventricle of the pulmonary trunk, goes to the pulmonary arteries, and then flows to the lungs.

00:30 Here it undergoes gas exchange at the alveoli.

00:34 And from there, the oxygenated blood is going to return to the heart by the pulmonary veins into the left atrium.

00:44 The second circulatory pathway is our systemic circulation, which is a long loop to all the parts of the body and back to the heart.

00:53 In systemic circulation, oxygenated blood is going to be pumped out of the left ventricle through the aorta and then through the system's vessels and capillaries.

01:05 At the capillaries, oxygen is going to be delivered to our tissues for metabolic purposes.

01:12 From their, veins will return the deoxygenated blood back to the heart through the superior or inferior vena cava into the right atrium of the heart.