THE RIGHT ATRIUM

The right atrium is one of the four hollow chambers of the heart; it is located on the upper right hand side.
It has relatively thin walls and receives blood returning through the veins. The right atrium receives blood
from two large veins: the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava. These veins return blood that is
low in oxygen from various sites in the body. A smaller vein, called the coronary sinus, also drains blood
into the right atrium from the wall of the heart.
Left Atrium
The left atrium is one of the heart's four hollow chambers; it can be found on the upper right hand side of
the heart. Oxygen-rich blood enters the left atrium from the pulmonary veins; the left atrium then pumps
this blood directly into the left ventricle. The left atrium receives most of its blood supply from the left
circumflex coronary artery. Drainage of the veins is carried out, in part, through left atrium's oblique vein.
Parts of the Circulatory System
The circulatory System is divided into three major parts:
1. The Heart
2. The Blood
3. The Blood Vessels
The Heart
The Heart is an amazing organ. The heart beats about 3 BILLION times during an average
lifetime. It is a muscle about the size of your fist. The heart is located in the center of your chest
slightly to the left. It's job is to pump your blood and keep the blood moving throughout your
body.
It is your job to keep your heart healthy and there are three main things you need to remember
in order to keep your heart healthy.
1. Exercise on a regular basis. Get outside and play. Keep that body moving (walk, jog,
run, bike, skate, jump, swim).
2. Eat Healthy. Remember the Food Pyramid and make sure your eating your food from
the bottom to top.
3. Don't Smoke! Don't Smoke! Don't Smoke! Don't Smoke! Don't Smoke!
CAPILLARY

Capillary, one of the minute blood vessels that form the connection between
the arteries and the veins. These tiny vessels vary in diameter from 0.0127
to about 0.2032 mm (0.0005 to about 0.008 in) and are present in great
numbers throughout the entire body. The walls of capillaries are exceedingly
thin and readily permeable. They are surrounded by lymph, and there is a
constant interchange between the substances in the blood within the
capillaries and the waste products in the body tissues and lymph outside.
This interchange facilitates the processes of nutrition and elimination and
enables the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide to take place. Lymph
capillaries assist the blood capillaries in this process.

The Blood Vessels
In class we talked about three types of blood vessels:
1. Arteries
2. Capillaries
3. Veins

Arteries
Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen rich blood AWAY from the heart.
Remember, A A Arteries Away, A A Arteries Away, A A Arteries Away.
Capillaries
Capillaries are tiny blood vessels as thin or thinner than the hairs on your head.
Capillaries connect arteries to veins. Food substances(nutrients), oxygen and wastes
pass in and out of your blood through the capillary walls.
Veins
Veins carry blood back toward your heart.
In the heart, a ventricle is one of two large chambers that collect and expel blood received from
an atrium towards the peripheral beds within the body and lungs. The atrium (an adjacent/upper
heart chamber that is smaller than a ventricle) primes the Pump. Interventricular means
between two or more ventricles (for example the interventricular septum), while
intraventricular means within one ventricle (for example an intraventricular block).
In a four-chambered heart, such as that in humans, there are two ventricles: the right ventricle
pumps blood into the pulmonary circulation to/for the lungs, and the left ventricle pumps blood
into the systemic circulation through the aorta (systemic circulation). (See Double circulatory
system for details.)