keuhkoverenkiertoa

Keuhkoverenkierto refers to the part of the circulatory system that carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs and returns oxygenated blood to the left atrium of the heart. This process is essential for gas exchange, allowing the body to take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

The journey begins when deoxygenated blood, having circulated through the body, enters the right atrium and then flows into the right ventricle. From the right ventricle, the blood is pumped into the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery then branches into smaller vessels that lead to the lungs.

Within the lungs, the pulmonary arteries further divide into capillaries that surround tiny air sacs called alveoli. It is here that the crucial gas exchange takes place. Carbon dioxide, a waste product of metabolism, diffuses from the blood into the alveoli to be exhaled, while oxygen from inhaled air diffuses from the alveoli into the blood.

Once oxygenated, the blood collects in the pulmonary veins. These veins carry the oxygen-rich blood back to the left atrium of the heart. From the left atrium, the blood passes into the left ventricle, which then pumps it into the systemic circulation to be distributed throughout the rest of the body. The keuhkoverenkierto is a low-pressure system compared to the systemic circulation.