The
circulatory system is made up of the vessels and the muscles
that help and control the flow of the blood around the body.
This process is called circulation. The main parts of the
system are the heart, arteries, capillaries and veins.
As blood
begins to circulate, it leaves the heart from the left ventricle
and goes into the aorta. The aorta is the largest artery in
the body. The blood leaving the aorta is full of oxygen. This
is important for the cells in the brain and the body to do
their work. The oxygen rich blood travels throughout the body
in its system of arteries into the smallest arterioles.
On
its way back to the heart, the blood travels through a system
of veins. As it reaches the lungs, the carbon dioxide (a waste
product) is removed from the blood and replace with fresh
oxygen that we have inhaled through the lungs.