What part of the heart pumps oxygenated blood to the aorta?
1 Answer
The left ventricle contracts a few milliseconds after the left atrium, ... pumping blood into the aorta.
Explanation:
It is just one specific part of the whole, continuous cycle. But per the specific question, it is the left ventricle that actually does the pumping into the aorta.
Blood is pumped by the right side of the heart to the lungs, where it passes through a capillary bed and picks up vital supplies of oxygen from the air in the lungs. This newly oxygenated blood collects in the pulmonary veins and travels to the left atrium of the heart.
The left atrium acts as a collecting chamber for blood and allows it to pass into the larger and more muscular left ventricle. Atrial systole results in the active pumping of blood from the left atrium into the left ventricle to fill the ventricle completely.
The left ventricle contracts a few milliseconds after the left atrium, forcing the bicuspid valve to close and pumping blood into the aorta and onwards towards the body’s organ systems. While the ventricles are contracting, the left atrium relaxes to allow more blood from the lungs to refill its chamber and prepare for the next cardiac cycle.
http://www.innerbody.com/image_card01/card50-new2.html
