Ar'te ries. The blood vessels and their branches that carry blood from the heart to all parts of the body. The pul'mon a ry artery carries impure (ve'nous) blood to the lungs.
Au'ri cles (ô'rĭ klz). The two chambers of the heart that receive blood from the veins.
Cap'il la ries. The minute blood vessels which form a network between the ends of the arteries and the beginnings of the veins.
Cir cu la'tion. The passage of the blood from the heart into the arteries, and from them through the capillaries into the veins, and through the veins back into the heart.
Cor'pus cles (cor'pŭs'lz). Minute jelly-like disks or cells. These are of two kinds, red and white, the red (the oxygen carriers) being about 350 times as many as the white, and giving the blood its color.
Heart. A muscle-sac located in the thorax between the lungs, its lower point, or a'pex, being tilted somewhat to the left; the centre and force-pump of the circulatory system.
Ox i da'tion. Combining with oxygen.
Ox'y gen. A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, which forms about one-fifth of the earth's atmosphere. It is found in all animal and vegetable tissues. When it combines with other substances, a certain amount of heat is produced; and if the process is sufficiently rapid, a flame is seen.
Pulse. The regularly recurring enlargement of an artery, caused by the increased blood flow following each contraction of the ventricle of the heart.
Veins. The blood vessels and their branches through which blood flows from all parts of the body back to the heart. All the veins except the pulmonary veins carry impure (venous) blood; the pulmonary veins carry arterialized (oxidated) blood from the lungs. Ve'na ca'va. Either of the two large veins discharging into the right auricle of the heart. Por'tal vein. The large, short vein that drains the liver and adjacent parts.