Multimedia Gallery - Separation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood in the heart of three types of animals.

Diagram shows separation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood in the heart of three animal types.

September 1, 2009

Separation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood in the heart of three types of animals.

The three-chambered frog heart mixes oxygenated and deoxygenated blood in the ventricle. Therefore, the body never receives fully oxygen-rich blood. In turtles, where a septum begins to form and separate the ventricles, the body receives slightly richer blood in oxygen. It is only in the warm-blooded model, in birds and mammals, that the two circulatory systems become fully separate sending low-pressure pumping to the lungs, and a high-pressure flow of blood to the rest of the body. In this model, the animal's muscles receive fully oxygenated blood.

Credit: Credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation

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