Page 9 - TheBodyBook

Pumping blood
Blood is carried around your body in tiny tubes called blood vessels.
Your heart pushes blood through your blood vessels every time it beats. The beating of your heart is called your pulse.
1. Heart 2. Blood vessels
Try checking your own pulse by placing two fingers on your wrist
Blood that is full of oxygen is carried away from your lungs by vessels called arteries. These are shown in red. As your body uses up oxygen, it makes carbon dioxide.
Blood that doesn’t have much oxygen left picks up the carbon dioxide. It is carried in vessels called veins, which are shown in blue.
1
2
Right atrium
Right ventricle
Aorta
Left atrium
Left ventricle
= Blood with lots of oxygen
= Blood with lots of carbon dioxide
The blood with lots of oxygen goes from your lungs, through the left side of your heart, to the rest
of your body.
The blood with lots of carbon dioxide goes through the right side of your heart to your lungs, where it gets rid of the carbon dioxide and gets more oxygen.