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Knowledge of systemic circulation and other aspects of the heart
and vascular system are essential parts of training in many therapies,
such as Massage (in its many forms, "Indian Head Massage",
"Swedish Massage", "Accupressure Massage" etc.),
Aromatherapy, Acupuncture, Shiatsu, and others. This page is intended
to include the detail required for most Basic / First Level Courses
in these therapies, and some ITEC Diplomas.
Systemic Circulation is the system of blood vessels
and associated tissues that supplies blood, and hence oxygen, to
all parts of the body.
One of the best ways to describe this system is using a diagram:
Diagram summarising Systemic Circulation
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This diagram and systemic circulation itself may be summarised
in words as follows:
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Oxygenated Blood
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Oxygenated blood leaves the lungs and enters the Left
Atrium (LA) of the heart via the pulmonary veins.
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This oxygenated blood is then pumped from the Left
Atrium (LA) of the heart to the Left Ventricle (LV)
of the heart, and then out of the heart to the body
tissues via the aorta, which is the major artery
leaving the heart.
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The aorta divides into other arteries that serve different
parts of the body (as mentioned on the page about the
structure of the heart). These can be separated
into two categories: blood supply to the upper-body,
and blood supply to the lower-body.
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Blood Supply to the Upper-Body:
The aorta leads to the subclavian arteries that
take blood to the arms (some of which eventually reaches
the hands),
and also to the carotid artery that carries blood
to the head.
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Blood Supply to the Lower-Body:
The aorta also leads to the hepatic artery that
carries blood to the liver,
the mesenteric artery that carries blood to the
small intestines,
the renal arteries that carry blood to the kidneys,
and the iliac arteries that carry blood to the
legs (some of which eventually reaches the feet.).
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Deoxygenated Blood
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Blood is deoxygenated when it leaves the tissues and
organs it has supplied with oxygen and other nutrients,
to return back to the pulmonary circulatory system.
This can also be summarised for the upper-body and lower-body
separately:
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Return of Blood from the Upper-Body:
Blood returns from the head via the jugular veins,
and from the arms via the subclavian veins. All
of the blood in the major veins of the upper body flows
into the superior vena cava, which returns the
blood to the right ventricle of the heart.
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Return of Blood from the Lower-Body:
Blood returns from the small intestines by passing through
the hepatic portal vein to the liver.
Blood returns from the liver via the hepatic vein,
from the kidneys via the renal veins, and from
the legs via the iliac veins. All of the blood
in the major veins of the lower body flows into the
inferior vena cava, which returns the blood to
the right ventricle of the heart.
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After re-entering the (right atrium of the) heart via
the superior vena cava and the inferior vena
cava, deoxygenated blood is pumped into the right
ventricle of the heart and then out of the heart to
the lungs via the pulmonary artery.
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Deoxygenated blood enters the lungs and is oxygenated
before leaving the lungs (as oxygenated blood), and
so the cycle begins again ...
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Further information about the structure
and functions of the heart
and vascular system generally are included on other pages
of this website. (These are presented separately to minimise
the download-times of image-intensive pages.)
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... End of Article ...
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