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The left ventricle pumps oxygen rich blood from the lung through the
arteries to all organs of the body. In order that every single cell is
supplied with the vital oxygen and all nutrients, the major arteries ramify
into increasingly smaller arteries. These branch again into even smaller
arteries, called arterioles, and finally into capillaries, a dense network
of tiny vessels. From these capillaries oxygen exchange takes place with the
cells. The capillaries then transit into the venules, the smallest veins.
The venules transport the now oxygen-poor, carbon dioxide-rich blood away
from the cells until ultimately the "used" blood reaches the right
ventricle through the vena cava. The blood is now pumped back to the lung. |
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