Science Common Sense

76 - How does the heart pump blood?

Imagine your heart is like a strong pumping machine. It has four chambers: the left and right atrium (small rooms that receive blood) and the left and right ventricle (strong rooms that pump blood).

Here's how it works:

1. Blood comes into the atrium through veins.
2. The atrium sends the blood to the ventricle.
3. The ventricle then contracts (gets smaller) to pump the blood out of the heart to the rest of the body through arteries.
4. The process repeats, like a pump going back and forth, to keep the blood flowing.

The heart beats about 100,000 times per day and pumps over 2,000 gallons of blood. That's like filling a swimming pool with blood every day.