Which chamber of the heart pumps oxygen poor blood to the lungs

Your heart muscle needs its own supply of blood because, like the rest of your body, it needs oxygen and other nutrients to stay healthy. For this reason, your heart pumps oxygen-rich blood to its own muscle through your coronary arteries. Keep blood flowing efficiently. Your heart has four valves that control the flow of blood in and out of the chambers. There are valves between the atrium and the ventricle on each side of your heart.

There is also a valve controlling the flow of blood out of each of your ventricles. The valves are designed to keep blood flowing forward only. When each chamber contracts, a valve opens to allow blood to flow out. When the chamber relaxes, the valve closes to prevent blood from leaking back into the chamber and to allow the chamber to fill with blood again.

A problem with your heart valves can disrupt the normal flow of blood and cause problems for your heart. Related Information Electrical System of the Heart.

Normal physiology of the cardiovascular system. In V Fuster et al. New York: McGraw-Hill. Credits Current as of: August 31, When the heart beats, valves act like 1-way doors. This keeps blood moving forward through the heart and into the body and lungs. The cycle continues. The right side of the heart pumps oxygen-poor blood from the body to the lungs, where gets oxygen again. The left side of the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the body.

The cycle is then repeated. Superior vena cava. This carries oxygen-poor blood from the upper part of the body to the right atrium. Inferior vena cava. This carries oxygen-poor blood from the lower part of the body to the right atrium. Right atrium. This gets oxygen-poor blood from the body through the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava and pumps the blood to the right ventricle.

Tricuspid valve. This lets oxygen-poor blood to flow forward from the right atrium to the right ventricle. Pulmonary valve. This lets oxygen-poor blood to flow forward to the pulmonary artery. Pulmonary veins. These carry oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the left atrium. Left atrium. This gets oxygen-rich blood from the lungs through the pulmonary veins and pumps the blood to the left ventricle.

The right ventricle pumps the blood from the right atrium into the lungs to pick up oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. The left ventricle pumps the blood from the left atrium out to the body, supplying all organs with oxygen-rich blood.

The 4 valves are the aortic, pulmonary, mitral, and tricuspid valves. They let blood flow forward and prevent the backward flow. Blood vessels. These bring blood to the lungs, where oxygen enters the bloodstream, and then to the body:. The inferior and superior vena cava bring oxygen-poor blood from the body into the right atrium. The pulmonary artery carries oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle into the lungs, where oxygen enters the bloodstream. An electrical system that stimulates contraction of the heart muscle.

Search Encyclopedia. The muscular wall of the heart has three layers. The outermost layer is the epicardium or visceral pericardium. The epicardium covers the heart, wraps around the roots of the great blood vessels, and adheres the heart wall to a protective sac. The middle layer is the myocardium. The innermost layer, the endocardium , lines the interior structures of the heart. The left atrium and right atrium are the two upper chambers of the heart. The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs.

The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood returning from other parts of the body. Valves connect the atria to the ventricles, the lower chambers. Each atrium empties into the corresponding ventricle below. The ventricles are the two lower chambers of the heart.