What is major and minor circulation?
The major circulation is the path that blood makes from the heart to the rest of the body. For its part, the minor circulation refers to the blood path that goes from the heart to the lungs.
The circulation of blood receives these names depending on the distance it must travel: the heart-lung circuit is much shorter than the one that goes from the heart to the rest of the body.
What is major circulation?
Major circulation or systemic circulation is understood as the blood path that begins when the blood, once it has been oxygenated in the lungs, leaves the left ventricle of the heart to travel through the aorta.
From there they pass to the peripheral arteries or arterioles, which in turn branch into very thin ducts called capillaries.
The capillaries are responsible for releasing oxygen (O 2) in the cells and "collect" the carbon dioxide (CO 2) that has been discarded. The tissues release other wastes that are sent to the kidneys, in charge of processing them and then expelling them from the body through the urine.
The blood, which as of this moment is no longer oxygen and contains carbon dioxide, travels through the peripheral veins to reach the main veins: superior and inferior vena cava.
From these main veins, carboxygenated blood is distributed to the right ventricle of the heart to end the course of the major circulation.
The function of the major or systemic circulation is to oxygenate the cells, as well as to load and transport waste from the body.
See also Aorta.
What is minor circulation?
The minor circulation or pulmonary circulation is the path that the blood makes with carbon dioxide and without oxygen from the right ventricle to the lungs.
In this case, the blood leaves the heart and travels through the pulmonary artery. Once in the lungs, it passes through the pulmonary capillaries and reaches the alveoli.
It is in the lungs that hematosis occurs, which consists of the gaseous exchange of carbon dioxide (CO 2) for oxygen (O 2).
The blood, which is now oxygenated, travels through the pulmonary veins to reach the left ventricle of the heart, from where it will leave the rest of the body through the major circulation.
The function of the minor or pulmonary circulation is the oxygenation of the blood in the lungs.
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