RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM AND THE

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Together, the respiratory system and the circulatory system are two of the
systems that keep us alive. One system, the respiratory, brings oxygen into the
body and delivers it into the blood. The other system, the circulatory system,
pumps the blood so that the oxygen can then be transported to the rest of the
body. Imagine that you have a bunch of letters to send to all of your friends. You
first put the letters (imagine they are oxygen) into the mailbox (the lungs). Then
the postal carrier picks up the letters (oxygen) and delivers it to all of the houses
(the circulatory system). Both are required or else there is no point in having either
system.
There is one specific area where all of the vital stuff happens between the
two systems. It is called the alveoli. Alveoli are little air sacs at the end of each
bronchiole in the lungs. There are more than 600 million air sacs in the lungs.
Around each air sac there is a mesh-like coating called the capillaries. This is where
the two systems meet and the exchange of oxygen happens. Oxygen is taken from
the alveoli and absorbed into the blood. In exchange, the carbon dioxide is put into
the lungs to be exhaled. As a visual, imagine that you are dropping off the groceries
(oxygen) and taking out the trash (carbon dioxide).