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The Circulatory System can be broken down into three subsystems: the Pulmonary Circulatory System, the Coronary Circulation, and the Systemic Circulatory System.
The Pulmonary Circulatory System refers to the blood that, coming from the body is deoxygenated, goes through the heart and into the lungs, is reoxygenated, and then pumped back through the heart into the body once again. In detail, the blood goes from the body into the right atrium of the heart, through the tricuspid valve, into the right ventricle. From there, the blood is pumped through the semilunar (pulmonary) valve into the pulmonary artery and into the lungs. Once the blood is pumped into the lungs, carbon dioxide is released and oxygen is put back into the blood stream and the blood returns to the heart, then back to the body.
The Coronary Circulation refers to the blood that is pumped through only the heart. The coronary arteries come off the aorta and supply the heart with oxygenated blood. The coronary veins take deoxygenated blood from the heart to the right atrium, where it is added to the systemic deoxygenated blood and is pumped into the lungs to be reoxygenized.
The Systemic Circulatory System refers to the blood that comes reoxygenated from the lungs, goes through the heart and back into the body. In detail, the blood goes from the lungs via the pulmonary veins, into the left atrium of the heart, through the mitral (bicuspid) valve into the left ventricle. The left ventricle pumps the blood into the aorta, which distributes the reoxygenated blood to the main arteries of the body. The blood then circulates through the arteries and capillaries of the body, returning to the veins once it is deoxygenized. -
For elementary-aged children, the learning of the entire circulatory system may be too advanced. Therefore a better approach may be explaining the main function of the heart and lungs in terms of blood flow through the body. Rather than discussing the details of the circulatory system, it might be better to explain to children that the blood from the body goes through the heart to the lungs, and there the blood gets oxygen. Then, the blood flows back to the heart where it is pumped out to the rest of the body again.
A good game for kids to help understand this would include drawing/coloring a blood flow chart of the heart using red to show where the oxygenated blood travels, and blue to show where the deoxygenated blood travels. Use the link below for Label Heart Anatomy for a printable heart that is good for kids to label and color.
Another game to learn the circulatory system for kids is by running a pipe cleaner through a model heart in the same way the blood flows through. You'll need various lengths of pipe cleaners and several plastic model hearts that have the appropriate openings. Show the kids where the blood flows from the body into the heart, through to the lungs and back. Have them trace that route with the pipe cleaners.
A third circulatory system game for kids is to print up the names of the parts of the circulatory system on laminated paper and put magnets on the back. Using a magnetic board, have the kids put the laminated names of the parts of the system up on the board in the correct order. This will help them understand the blood flow through the system in terms of words rather than only in a visual sense. -
Adults can learn the circulatory system in a more advanced way than children, since more than likely, adults will be learning the details of the circulatory system, rather than just a basic overview.
One game for adults is a take on the third game listed for kids. Adults can list, in words, the route blood takes going from the body, through the heart, into the lungs, and back. To do this, either a word bank can be provided, or students can list the blood flow path by memory. It may be beneficial to start with a word bank, and then not allow a word bank later in the course, or for more advanced students.
Adult students can also play a game similar to "Around the World," where students will start with two students paired up and the first one to say the first step in the blood flow process will be allowed to continue on to the next student, then the first of those two to say the next step continues on and so forth.
Another way to learn the circulatory system is to use the "Label Heart Anatomy" link at the bottom and label the parts of the heart, then trace the blood flow through the heart. Make sure you understand which parts of the heart are transporting oxygenated air and which are transporting deoxygenated air. The difference between the kids using this drawing and adults using it, is that kids should use it simply for showing which parts of the heart carry oxygenated or deoxygenated blood, where adults should label all the detailed parts of the heart.
