pulmonary circulation

(noun)

The part of blood circulation which carries oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart.

Related Terms

Examples of pulmonary circulation in the following topics:

  • Blood Supply to the Lungs

    • Pulmonary circulation transports oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart to the lungs and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart.
    • Pulmonary circulation refers to blood supply to the lungs for the purpose of gas exchange.
    • The right side of the heart deals with pulmonary circulation.
    • Systemic circulation and pulmonary circulation form the overall cycle of the circulatory system, which serves the greater purpose of transporting oxygen throughout the body.
    • Diagram of pulmonary circulation.

  • Systemic and Pulmonary Circulation

    • The cardiovascular system has two distinct circulatory paths, pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation.
    • Pulmonary circulation is the movement of blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation, then back to the heart again .
    • Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs leaves the pulmonary circulation when it enters the left atrium through the pulmonary veins.
    • From the right atrium, the blood will travel through the pulmonary circulation to be oxygenated before returning gain to the system circulation.
    • Diagram of pulmonary circulation.

  • Blood Flow in the Lungs

    • Pulmonary circulation in the lungs is responsible for removing carbon dioxide from and replacing oxygen in deoxygenated blood.
    • Oxygenated blood is then returned to the heart via the pulmonary vein.
    • The oxygenated blood then leaves the lungs through pulmonary veins, which return it to the left atrium of the heart, completing the pulmonary cycle.
    • The blood is then distributed to the body through the systemic circulation before returning again to the right atrium.
    • Outline the path of pulmonary circulation: blood flow in the lungs

  • Great Vessels of the Heart

    • The human circulatory system is a double system, meaning there are two separate systems of blood flow: pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation.
    • The adult human heart consists of two separated pumps, the right side (right atrium and ventricle,) which pumps deoxygenated blood into the pulmonary circulation, and the left side (left atrium and ventricle), which pumps oxygenated blood into the systemic circulation.
    • Blood first passes through the pulmonary valve as it is ejected into the pulmonary arteries.
    • The pulmonary arteries and veins are both considered to be part of pulmonary circulation.
    • Diagram of pulmonary circulation.

  • Introduction to Blood Flow, Pressure, and Resistance

    • The pulmonary circulatory system circulates deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs via the pulmonary artery and returns it to the heart via the pulmonary vein.
    • The systemic circulatory system circulates oxygenated blood from the heart around the body into the tissues before returning deoxygenated blood to the heart.
    • There are three key factors that influence the circulation of blood:
    • The resistance offered by the peripheral circulation is known as the systemic vascular resistance (SVR), while the resistance offered by the vasculature of the lungs is known as the pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR).
    • Pulmonary circulation is the half of the cardiovascular system which carries oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart to the lungs and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart.

  • Fetal Circulation

    • The fetal circulation includes the blood vessels within the placenta and the umbilical cord that carry fetal blood.
    • The fetal circulation is the circulatory system of a human fetus, often encompassing the entire fetoplacental circulation that also includes the umbilical cord and the blood vessels within the placenta that carry fetal blood .
    • The fetal circulation works differently from that of born humans, mainly because the lungs are not in use.
    • In the fetus, there is an opening between the right and left atrium (the foramen ovale), and most of the blood flows through this hole directly into the left atrium from the right atrium, thus bypassing pulmonary circulation.
    • These closures prevent blood from bypassing pulmonary circulation, and therefore allow the neonate's blood to become oxygenated in the newly operational lungs.

  • Pulmonary Edema

    • Pulmonary edema is fluid accumulation in the air spaces and parenchyma of the lungs.
    • It is due to either failure of the left ventricle of the heart to adequately remove blood from the pulmonary circulation ("cardiogenic pulmonary edema") or an injury to the lung parenchyma or vasculature of the lung ("noncardiogenic pulmonary edema").
    • There is no one single test for confirming that breathlessness is caused by pulmonary edema.
    • In the case of cardiogenic pulmonary edema, urgent echocardiography may strengthen the diagnosis by demonstrating impaired left ventricular function, high central venous pressures, and high pulmonary artery pressures.
    • Interstitial and alveolar pulmonary edema with small pleural effusions on both sides.

  • Blood Flow in the Heart

    • The heart is a key organ in the circulatory system responsible for the generation of pressure and thus flow throughout the system and pulmonary circulatory systems.
    • The heart has its own circulation system, coronary circulation, which is a part of systemic circulation.
    • Circulation of blood through the chambers of the heart.
    • Deoxygenated blood is received from the systemic circulation into the right atrium, it is pumped into the right ventricle and then through the pulmonary artery into the lungs.
    • The coronary circulation supplies the heart muscle with the oxygen and nutrients it requires to function.

  • Heart Valve Disorders

    • Specific situations include those where additional demands are made on the circulation, such as in pregnancy.
    • Pulmonary and tricuspid valve diseases are right-side heart diseases.
    • Pulmonary valve diseases are the least common heart valve disease in adults.
    • The most common types of pulmonary valve diseases are: pulmonary valve insufficiency, pulmonary valve incompetence, and pulmonary valve regurgitation.
    • Complications arise when the flow of blood is obstructed from leaving the right ventricle and making its way into the pulmonary artery, or once blood is in the pulmonary artery, the blood has the ability to flow back into the right ventricle.

  • Principal Veins

    • The above veins form part of the systemic circulatory system, the pulmonary veins and venules which run from the lungs to the heart form part of the pulmonary circulatory system and are distinct from other veins in that they carry oxygenated blood.
    • Other important venous systems include the cardiac veins which return blood from the heart tissue back to the general circulation.
    • The pulmonary veins are large blood vessels which received oxygenated blood from the lungs and return it to the left atrium of the heart.
    • There are four pulmonary veins, two from each lung each of which forms from three to four bronchial veins.
    • It functions to supply the liver with blood and required metabolites but also ensures that ingested substances are first processed in the liver before reaching the wider systemic circulation.