The normal heart has two separate circulation pathways. This artery branches into the right pulmonary artery, carrying blue blood to the right lung, and the left pulmonary artery, taking blue blood to the left lung. Here, the blood picks up oxygen taken in during normal breathing. In the relaxation phase of the heartbeat pattern, blood from the left atrium drains through the mitral valve into the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber for sending red blood out of the heart to the rest of the body.
Body tissues receive oxygen in very tiny vessels called capillaries.
The heart muscle itself gets red blood from tiny arteries that come off the very first part of the aorta near the aortic valve. These are called coronary arteries, getting their name from the crown-like pattern they form on the surface of the heart. All Rights Reserved.