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CARDIOVASCULAR ANATOMY

Blood flow through the heart: chambers, valves and circulation

Trace the path from the body to the lungs and back, with a labelled flow diagram, a heart cutaway and clinical connections.

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Explore the heart and vascular atlas ↗

One circuit, two pumps

The right ventricle sends blood to the lungs for gas exchange. The left ventricle sends blood into the systemic circulation. Follow the arrows through both sides before returning to the starting point. [1]

Direction of blood flow through the heart and lungsBody to venae cavae, right atrium, tricuspid valve, right ventricle, pulmonary valve, pulmonary arteries, lungs, pulmonary veins, left atrium, mitral valve, left ventricle, aortic valve, aorta, and body. This is a flow schematic, not anatomical positioning. BODY TISSUESSystemic capillary beds Venae cavae Right atrium Tricuspid valve Right ventricle Pulmonary valvePulmonary arteries LUNGSPulmonary capillary beds Pulmonary veins Left atrium Mitral valve Left ventricle Aortic valve → aorta Blue: lower oxygen · Pink: higher oxygen · Normal postnatal flow
Read down the right-heart column and up the left-heart column. Arrows indicate flow direction; colours represent relative oxygenation. Spatial arrangement is simplified.

The four valves in order

ValveForward flow
TricuspidRight atrium → right ventricle
PulmonaryRight ventricle → pulmonary trunk
MitralLeft atrium → left ventricle
AorticLeft ventricle → aorta

Valves help prevent backward flow. Arteries carry blood away from the heart; veins carry blood toward it. Pulmonary arteries therefore carry oxygen-poor blood, while pulmonary veins carry oxygen-rich blood. [1]

Heart cutaway showing the atria above the ventricles, the septum and the great vessels; anatomical right is on the viewer’s left.
Connect the circuit to the anatomy. In CardioAtlas, open Heart lab for numbered, selectable structures. Illustration: Wapcaplet, Yaddah, Wnauta and later contributors including Jmarchn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0; reproduced unchanged.

Clinical connections

01

Valve narrowing

Stenosis restricts forward flow through a valve. Identify the chamber just upstream of the narrowed opening. [2]

02

Valve leakage

Regurgitation allows reverse flow through a valve that does not close effectively. Add a backward arrow to the affected connection. [2]

03

Coronary circulation

The heart muscle needs its own blood supply. Coronary arteries branch from the aorta; blood within the chambers is not its arterial supply. [1]

Practise the route

Start with a red blood cell returning from a leg. Trace every chamber and valve until it reaches the aorta. Then repeat from a pulmonary vein. Use the diagram to check the sequence before exploring the animated flow routes.

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References

  1. NHLBI: How blood flows through the heart — normal flow, valves and coronary supply.
  2. NHLBI: Heart valve diseases — stenosis and regurgitation.

LEARN THE FOUNDATIONS

Visual guides, step by step.