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Multiple Choice

Which heart chamber pumps blood into the systemic circuit?

Systemic circulation is driven by the chamber that ejects blood into the aorta to feed the entire body. That chamber is the left ventricle. It has a thick muscular wall to generate the high pressure needed to push oxygenated blood through the aorta and into systemic arteries. Blood reaches the left ventricle from the left atrium via the mitral valve after returning from the lungs through the pulmonary veins. When it contracts, blood leaves through the aortic valve into the ascending aorta. By contrast, the right ventricle powers the pulmonary circuit, delivering blood to the lungs at a much lower pressure. The atria act as receiving chambers, with the left atrium collecting oxygenated blood from the lungs and the right atrium collecting systemic venous blood.

Systemic circulation is driven by the chamber that ejects blood into the aorta to feed the entire body. That chamber is the left ventricle. It has a thick muscular wall to generate the high pressure needed to push oxygenated blood through the aorta and into systemic arteries. Blood reaches the left ventricle from the left atrium via the mitral valve after returning from the lungs through the pulmonary veins. When it contracts, blood leaves through the aortic valve into the ascending aorta. By contrast, the right ventricle powers the pulmonary circuit, delivering blood to the lungs at a much lower pressure. The atria act as receiving chambers, with the left atrium collecting oxygenated blood from the lungs and the right atrium collecting systemic venous blood.