Final answer:
The basic pathway of bloodflow through the heart involves the movement of blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs, where it picks up oxygen and releases carbon dioxide, and then back to the left side of the heart before being pumped out to the rest of the body.
Step-by-step explanation:
Pathway of Blood Flow Through the Heart
The pathway of blood flow through the heart can be summarized as follows:
- Vena cavae: Deoxygenated blood from the body enters the right atrium through the superior and inferior vena cavae.
- Right atrium: The right atrium then contracts, pushing the blood into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve.
- Right ventricle: The right ventricle contracts, pumping the deoxygenated blood into the pulmonary artery through the pulmonary valve.
- Pulmonary artery: The pulmonary artery carries the deoxygenated blood to the lungs.
- Lungs: In the lungs, the deoxygenated blood picks up oxygen and releases carbon dioxide through the process of gas exchange.
- Pulmonary veins: The oxygenated blood travels from the lungs back to the heart through the pulmonary veins.
- Left atrium: The oxygenated blood enters the left atrium of the heart.
- Left ventricle: Finally, the left atrium contracts, pushing the oxygenated blood into the left ventricle through the mitral valve.
Aorta: The left ventricle contracts, pumping the oxygenated blood into the aorta, which then distributes the oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.
This pathway ensures that oxygenated blood is delivered to the body's tissues, while deoxygenated blood is removed from the body and sent to the lungs for oxygenation.