How are the respiratory and circulatory systems connected?

1 Answer
Oct 26, 2017

The simplest answer is that the circulatory and respiratory systems work together to circulate blood and oxygen throughout the body.

Explanation:

Air moves in and out of the lungs through the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles. Blood moves in and out of the lungs through the pulmonary arteries and veins that connect to the heart.

The pulmonary vessels operate backwards from the rest of the body's vasculature: The pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs, and the pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood back to the heart to be distributed to the body.

Oxygenated blood is brought to organs and tissues via the arteries, while veins bring deoxygenated blood back to the heart to be replenished. The point is, without the respiratory system your blood would be useless.

Source: https://www.visiblebody.com/blog/anatomy-and-physiology-the-relationships-of-the-respiratory-system