Pulmonary circulation - wikipedia Pulmonary circulation This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2017 ) Pulmonary circulation Human pulmonary circulation. Oxygen - rich blood is shown in red ; oxygen - depleted blood in blue Pulmonary circulation in the heart Anatomical terminology ( edit on Wikidata ) The pulmonary circulation is the portion of the circulatory system which carries deoxygenated blood away from the right ventricle of the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood to the left atrium and ventricle of the heart. The term pulmonary circulation is readily paired and contrasted with the systemic circulation. The vessels of the pulmonary circulation are the pulmonary arteries and the pulmonary veins. A separate system known as the bronchial circulation supplies oxygenated blood to the tissue of the larger airways of the lung. Contents 1 Route 1.1 Arteries 1.2 Lungs 1.3 Veins 1.4 Arteries 2 History 3 Embryonic 4 See also 5 External links 6 References Route 3D rendering of a high resolution computed tomography of the thorax. The anterior thoracic wall, the airways and the pulmonary vessels anterior to the root of the lung have been digitally removed in order to visualize the different levels of the pulmonary circulation. Image showing main pulmonary artery coursing ventrally to the aortic root and trachea, and the right pulmonary artery passes dorsally to the ascending aorta, while the left pulmonary artery passes ventrally to the descending aorta. Deoxygenated blood leaves the heart, goes to the lungs, and then re-enters the heart ; Deoxygenated blood leaves through the right ventricle through the pulmonary artery. From the right atrium, the blood is pumped through the tricuspid valve ( or right atrioventricular valve ), into the right ventricle. Blood is then pumped from the right ventricle through the pulmonary valve and into the main pulmonary artery. Arteries Main article : Pulmonary artery From the right ventricle, blood is pumped through the semilunar pulmonary valve into the left and right main pulmonary arteries ( one for each lung ), which branch into smaller pulmonary arteries that spread throughout the lungs. Lungs The pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood to the lungs, where carbon dioxide is released and oxygen is picked up during respiration. Arteries are further divided into very fine capillaries which are extremely thin - walled. The pulmonary vein returns oxygenated blood to the left atrium of the heart. Veins Main article : Pulmonary vein The oxygenated blood then leaves the lungs through pulmonary veins, which return it to the left heart, completing the pulmonary cycle. This blood then enters the left atrium, which pumps it through the mitral valve into the left ventricle. From the left ventricle, the blood passes through the aortic valve to the aorta. The blood is then distributed to the body through the systemic circulation before returning again to the pulmonary circulation. Arteries Main article : Pulmonary artery From the right ventricle, blood is pumped through the semilunar pulmonary valve into the left and right main pulmonary arteries ( one for each lung ), which branch into smaller pulmonary arteries that spread throughout the lungs. History Pulmonary circulation was first described by the Arab physician Ibn al - Nafis in his Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna 's Canon ( 1242 ). Ibn al - Nafis described pulmonary circulation as : `` the blood from the right chamber of the heart must arrive at the left chamber but there is no direct pathway between them. The thick septum of the heart is not perforated and does not have visible pores as some people thought or invisible pores as Galen thought. The blood from the right chamber must flow through the vena arteriosa ( pulmonary artery ) to the lungs, spread through its substances, be mingled there with air, pass through the arteria venosa ( pulmonary vein ) to reach the left chamber of the heart and there form the vital spirit... '' It was later described by Michael Servetus in the `` Manuscript of Paris '' ( near 1546, never published ) and later published in his Christianismi Restitutio ( 1553 ). Since it was a theology work condemned by most of the Christian factions of his time, the discovery remained mostly unknown until the dissections of William Harvey in 1616. In 1559, Realdo Colombo explained the Pulmonary function. Prior to Colombo 's work, anatomists such as Galen and Vesalius examined blood vessels separately from the organs of the body. Colombo instead considered these vessels together with the organs they support, and from this was able to conceptualize the flow of blood to and from each organ, supporting his discovery of pulmonary transition of the blood. Colombo also viewed the lungs separately from the heart, and assigned it as having a special role in respiration. Embryonic The pulmonary circulation loop is virtually bypassed in fetal circulation. The fetal lungs are collapsed, and blood passes from the right atrium directly into the left atrium through the foramen ovale : an open conduit between the paired atria, or through the ductus arteriosus : a shunt between the pulmonary artery and the aorta. When the lungs expand at birth, the pulmonary pressure drops and blood is drawn from the right atrium into the right ventricle and through the pulmonary circuit. Over the course of several months, the foramen ovale closes, leaving a shallow depression known as the fossa ovalis. See also Underwater diving portal Pulmonary hypertension Pulmonary embolus Pulmonary shunt Cardiac shunt Vascular resistance External links Official Journal of the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute Michael Servetus Research Study on the Manuscript of Paris with the description of the Pulmonary Circulation, and more works by Servetus. References Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pulmonary circulation. Jump up ^ Hine, Robert ( 2008 ). A dictionary of biology ( 6th ed. ). Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 540. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 920462 - 5. Jump up ^ The Pursuit of Learning in the Islamic World, 610 - 2003 By Hunt Janin, Pg99 Jump up ^ Saints and saviours of Islam, By Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi, Pg295 Jump up ^ 2011 `` The love for truth. Life and work of Michael Servetus '', ( El amor a la verdad. Vida y obra de Miguel Servet. ), printed by Navarro y Navarro, Zaragoza, collaboration with the Government of Navarra, Department of Institutional Relations and Education of the Government of Navarra, 607 pp, 64 of them illustrations, p 215 - 228 & 62nd illustration ( XLVII ) Jump up ^ Cunningham, Andrew ( 1997 ). The Anatomical Renaissance : The Resurrection of the Anatomical Projects of the Ancients. Scholar Press. p. 143. ISBN 1 - 85928 - 338 - 1. Respiratory physiology Respiration breath inhalation exhalation respiratory rate respirometer pulmonary surfactant compliance elastic recoil hysteresivity airway resistance bronchial hyperresponsiveness constriction dilatation mechanical ventilation Control pons pneumotaxic center apneustic center medulla dorsal respiratory group ventral respiratory group chemoreceptors central peripheral pulmonary stretch receptors Hering -- Breuer reflex Lung volumes VC FRC Vt dead space CC PEF calculations respiratory minute volume FEV1 / FVC ratio Lung function tests spirometry body plethysmography peak flow meter nitrogen washout Circulation pulmonary circulation hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction pulmonary shunt Interactions ventilation ( V ) Perfusion ( Q ) Ventilation / perfusion ratio V / Q scan zones of the lung gas exchange pulmonary gas pressures alveolar gas equation alveolar -- arterial gradient hemoglobin oxygen -- haemoglobin dissociation curve ( Oxygen saturation 2, 3 - BPG Bohr effect Haldane effect ) carbonic anhydrase ( chloride shift ) oxyhemoglobin respiratory quotient arterial blood gas diffusion capacity ( DLCO ) Insufficiency high altitude oxygen toxicity hypoxia Diving medicine, physiology, physics and environment Diving medicine Injuries and disorders Pressure Oxygen Freediving blackout Hyperoxia Hypoxia ( medical ) Oxygen toxicity Inert gases Atrial septal defect Avascular necrosis Decompression sickness Dysbaric osteonecrosis High - pressure nervous syndrome Hydrogen narcosis Isobaric counterdiffusion Nitrogen narcosis Taravana Uncontrolled decompression Carbon dioxide Hypercapnia Hypocapnia Aerosinusitis Air embolism Alternobaric vertigo Barodontalgia Barostriction Barotrauma Compression arthralgia Decompression illness Dental barotrauma Dysbarism Ear clearing Frenzel maneuver Valsalva maneuver Immersion Asphyxia Drowning Hypothermia Immersion diuresis Instinctive drowning response Laryngospasm Salt water aspiration syndrome Swimming - induced pulmonary edema List of signs and symptoms of diving disorders Cramps Diving disorders Motion sickness Surfer 's ear Treatments Diving chamber Diving medicine Hyperbaric medicine Hyperbaric treatment schedules In - water recompression Oxygen therapy Fitness to dive Diving physiology Artificial gills ( human ) Blood -- air barrier Blood shift Breathing Circulatory system CO2 retention Cold shock response Dead space ( physiology ) Decompression ( diving ) Decompression theory Diving reflex Gas exchange History of decompression research and development Lipid Maximum operating depth Metabolism Normocapnia Oxygen window in diving decompression Perfusion Physiological response to water immersion Physiology of decompression Pulmonary circulation Respiratory exchange ratio Respiratory quotient Respiratory system Systemic circulation Tissue ( biology ) Diving physics Ambient pressure Amontons ' law Anti-fog Archimedes ' principle Atmospheric pressure Boyle 's law Breathing performance of regulators Buoyancy Charles 's law Combined gas law Dalton 's law Diffusion Force Gay - Lussac 's law Henry 's law Hydrophobe Hydrostatic pressure Ideal gas law Molecular diffusion Neutral buoyancy Oxygen fraction Partial pressure Permeation Pressure Psychrometric constant Snell 's law Solubility Solution Supersaturation Surface tension Surfactant Torricellian chamber Underwater vision Weight Diving environment Algal bloom Breaking wave Ocean current Current ( stream ) Ekman transport Halocline List of diving hazards and precautions Longshore drift Rip current Stratification Surf Surge ( wave action ) Thermocline Tides Turbidity Undertow ( water waves ) Upwelling Researchers in diving medicine and physiology Arthur J. Bachrach Albert R. Behnke Paul Bert George F. Bond Robert Boyle Albert A. Bühlmann John R Clarke William Paul Fife John Scott Haldane Robert William Hamilton Jr. Leonard Erskine Hill Brian Andrew Hills Felix Hoppe - Seyler Christian J. Lambertsen Simon Mitchell Charles Momsen John Rawlins R.N. Charles Wesley Shilling Edward D. Thalmann Jules Triger Diving medical research organisations Aerospace Medical Association Divers Alert Network ( DAN ) Diving Diseases Research Centre ( DDRC ) Diving Medical Advisory Council ( DMAC ) European Diving Technology Committee ( EDTC ) European Underwater and Baromedical Society ( EUBS ) National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory Royal Australian Navy School of Underwater Medicine Rubicon Foundation South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society ( SPUMS ) Southern African Underwater and Hyperbaric Medical Association ( SAUHMA ) Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society ( UHMS ) United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit ( NEDU ) Categories : Diving medicine Underwater diving physiology Underwater diving physics Physical oceanography Glossary Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pulmonary_circulation&oldid=822239094 '' Categories : Angiology Respiratory physiology Underwater diving physiology Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from May 2017 All articles needing additional references Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows Talk Contents About Wikipedia Bân - lâm - gú Bosanski Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Español Français Galego 한국어 Italiano Latina Nederlands 日本 語 Plattdüütsch Polski Português Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 25 January 2018, at 05 : 44. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: where does blood go when it leaves the pulmonary artery
Answer: lungs; into smaller pulmonary arteries that spread throughout the lungs; The pulmonary vein; lungs