ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY

[Cardiovascular system]

(1-2.) What is pulmonary and systemic circuit? What are the steps of pulmonary and systemic
circuits? Include a diagram.

Pulmonary Circulation is the blood circulation from the right ventricle (the pump) to the lungs
and back to the left atrium (receiving chamber). While Systemic Circulation is the blood
circulation from the left ventricle to the various organs and back to the right atrium.

Pulmonary Circulation Steps

1. From the right ventricle, deoxygenated blood is pumped through the pulmonary valve and into
the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery splits into the right and left pulmonary arteries and
travels to each lung.

2. At the lungs, the blood travels through capillary beds on the alveoli where gas exchange occurs,
removing carbon dioxide and adding oxygen to the blood. Gas exchange occurs due to gas partial
pressure gradients across the alveoli of the lungs and the capillaries interwoven in the alveoli.
3. The oxygenated blood then leaves the lungs through pulmonary veins, which return it to the
left atrium, completing the pulmonary circuit. As the pulmonary circuit ends, the systemic circuit
begins.

Systemic Circulation Steps

1. From the left ventricle, oxygenated blood is pumped through the aortic valve and into the
aorta, the body’s largest artery.

2. The aorta arches and branches into major arteries to the upper body before passing through
the diaphragm, where it branches further into the iliac, renal, and suprarenal arteries which
supply the lower parts of the body.

3. The deoxygenated blood continues through the capillaries which merge into venules, then
veins, and finally the venae cavae, which drain into the right atrium of the heart.

4. From the right atrium, the blood will travel through the pulmonary circulation to be
oxygenated before returning again to the system circulation, completing the cycle of circulation
through the body.

(3.) Trace the pattern of circulation. Include a diagram.

The pattern of Blood Circulation from the Heart:

Right Ventricle → Pulmonary Artery → Pulmonary Vein → Left Atrium → Left Ventricle → Aorta
→ Vena Cava → Right Atrium
Here is what happens as blood flows through the heart and lungs:

1. The blood first enters the right atrium.

2. The blood then flows through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle.

3. When the heart beats, the ventricle pushes blood through the pulmonic valve into the
pulmonary artery.

4. The pulmonary artery carries blood to the lungs where it “picks up” oxygen.

5. It then leaves the lungs to return to the heart through the pulmonary vein.

6. The blood enters the left atrium.

7. It drops through the mitral valve into the left ventricle.

8. The left ventricle then pumps blood through the aortic valve and into the aorta. The aorta
is the artery that feeds the rest of the body through a system of blood vessels.

9. Blood returns to the heart from the body via two large blood vessels called the superior
vena cava and the inferior vena cava. This blood carries little oxygen, as it is returning
from the body where oxygen was used.

10. The vena cavae pump blood into the right atrium and the cycle begins all over again.

(4.) Define hepatic portal vein. Describe hepatic circulation pathway. Include a diagram.

The hepatic portal vein defines as the blood vessel that carries blood to the liver from the
intestines, spleen, pancreas, and gallbladder. The hepatic portal system functions are to supply
the liver with metabolites and ensure that ingested substances are processed in the liver before
reaching the systemic circulation, limiting the damage ingested toxins may cause.

The blood flows through the liver tissue to the hepatic cells where many metabolic functions take
place. The blood drains out of the liver via the hepatic vein. The liver tissue is not vascularised
with a capillary network as with most other organs, but consists of blood-filled sinusoids
surrounding the hepatic cells.

See the diagram below:

(5.) Explain why the Sino atrial node is called the “pacemaker” of the heart.

The SA (sinoatrial) node generates an electrical signal that causes the upper heart chambers
(atria) to contract. The signal then passes through the AV (atrioventricular) node to the lower
heart chambers (ventricles), causing them to contract, or pump.

The sinus node continuously generates electrical impulses, thereby setting the normal rhythm
and rate in a healthy heart. Hence, the SA node is referred to as the natural pacemaker of the
heart.
References
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LibreTexts. (2018, July 21). 17.2D: Systemic and Pulmonary Circulation. Medicine LibreTexts. Retrieved
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