The Circulation of Blood in the Human Body Essay

The Circulation of Blood in the Human Body - Essay Example Each side of the heart has its designated functions in the circulation of blood. The right side pumps blood that is deficient in oxygen and rich in carbon dioxide (deoxygenated blood). The blood is pumped to the lungs where oxygenation takes place. The process involves the loss of carbon dioxide to the air through the breathing process and absorption of oxygen (Storad, 2005). The oxygen is transported by the red cells in the blood, also called erythrocytes. The left side of the muscular organ pumps oxygenated blood flowing from the lungs to the other parts of the body. The technical role of the heart in the circulation of the blood is as illustrated in the video in figure 2. As can be noted from the video, the blood from the left side of the heart does not mix with that on the right side. If this happened, oxygenated blood would be deoxygenated by the high levels of carbon dioxide in the right side of the heart. The blood deficient in oxygen is circulated from the other parts of the body where respiration has taken place to the heart through the venacava (Rogers, 2011). The venacava is divided into two parts with the superior vein returning blood from the hands and the head to the heart while the inferior vein carries blood to the heart from the other parts of the body. The oxygen deficient blood flows into the right atrium because the pressure of the atrium is low based on the contraction action of the heart.