Circulatory system: On average, your body has about 5 liters of blood continually traveling through it by way of the circulatory system. The heart, the lungs, and the blood vessels work together to form the circle part of the circulatory system. The pumping of the heart forces the blood on its journey.
The body's circulatory system really has three distinct parts: pulmonary circulation, coronary circulation, and systemic circulation: the lungs (pulmonary), the heart (coronary), and the rest of the system (systemic). Each part must be working independently in order for them to all work together.

Pulmonary circulation: Pulmonary circulation is the movement of blood from the heart, to the lungs, and back to the heart again. This is just one phase of the overall circulatory system.

The veins bring waste-rich blood back to the heart, entering the right atrium throughout two large veins called vena cavae. The right atrium fills with the waste-rich blood and then contracts, pushing the blood through a one-way valve into the right ventricle. The right ventricle fills and then contracts, pushing the blood into the pulmonary artery which leads to the lungs. In the lung capillaries, the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen takes place. The fresh, oxygen-rich blood enters the pulmonary veins and then returns to the heart, re-entering through the left atrium. The oxygen-rich blood then passes through a one-way valve into the left ventricle where it will exit the heart through the main artery, called the aorta. The left ventricle's contraction forces the blood into the aorta and the blood begins its journey throughout the body.

The one-way valves are important for preventing any backward flow of blood. The circulatory system is a network of one-way streets. If blood started flowing the wrong way, the blood gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) might mix, causing a serious threat to your body.
You can use a stethoscope to hear pulmonary circulation. The two sounds you hear, "lub" and "dub," are the ventricles contracting and the valves closing.

Coronary circulation: While the circulatory system is busy providing oxygen and nourishment to every cell of the body, let's not forget that the heart, which works hardest of all, needs nourishment, too. Coronary circulation refers to the movement of blood through the tissues of the heart. The circulation of blood through the heart is just one part of the overall circulatory system.
Serious heart damage may occur if the heart tissue does not receive a normal supply of food and oxygen. The heart tissue receives nourishment through the capillaries located in the heart.

Systemic circulation: Systemic circulation supplies nourishment to all of the tissue located throughout your body, with the exception of the heart and lungs because they have their own systems. Systemic circulation is a major part of the overall circulatory system.

The blood vessels (arteries, veins, and capillaries) are responsible for the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the tissue. Oxygen-rich blood enters the blood vessels through the heart's main artery called the aorta. The forceful contraction of the heart's left ventricle forces the blood into the aorta which then branches into many smaller arteries which run throughout the body. The inside layer of an artery is very smooth, allowing the blood to flow quickly. The outside layer of an artery is very strong, allowing the blood to flow forcefully. The oxygen-rich blood enters the capillaries where the oxygen and nutrients are released. The waste products are collected and the waste-rich blood flows into the veins in order to circulate back to the heart where pulmonary circulation will allow the exchange of gases in the lungs.

During systemic circulation, blood passes through the kidneys. This phase of systemic circulation is known as renal circulation. During this phase, the kidneys filter much of the waste from the blood. Blood also passes through the small intestine during systemic circulation. This phase is known as portal circulation. During this phase, the blood from the small intestine collects in the portal vein which passes through the liver. The liver filters sugars from the blood, storing them for later.

Blood vessels: In a general sense, a vessel is defined as a hollow utensil for carrying something: a cup, a bucket, a tube. Blood vessels, then, are hollow utensils for carrying blood. Located throughout your body, your blood vessels are hollow tubes that circulate your blood.
There are three varieties of blood vessels: arteries, veins, and capillaries. During blood circulation, the arteries carry blood away from the heart. The capillaries connect the arteries to veins. Finally, the veins carry the blood back to the heart.
If you took all of the blood vessels out of an average child, and laid them out in one line, the line would be over 60,000 miles long! An adult's vessels would be closer to 100,000 miles long!
Besides circulating blood, the blood vessels provide two important means of measuring vital health statistics: pulse and blood pressure. We measure heart rate, or pulse, by touching an artery. The rhythmic contraction of the artery keeps pace with the beat of the heart. Since an artery is near the surface of the skin, while the heart is deeply protected, we can easily touch the artery and get an accurate measure of the heart's pulse.

When we measure blood pressure, we use the blood flowing through the arteries because it has a higher pressure than the blood in the veins. Your blood pressure is measured using two numbers. The first number, which is higher, is taken when the heart beats during the systole phase. The second number is taken when the heart relaxes during the diastole phase. Those two numbers stand for millimeters. A column of mercury rises and falls with the beat of the heart. The height of the column is measured in millimeters. Normal blood pressure ranges from 110 to 150 millimeters (as the heart beats) over 60 to 80 millimeters (as the heart relaxes). It is normal for your blood pressure to increase when you are exercising and to decrease when you are sleeping. If your blood pressure stays too high or too low, however, you may be at risk of heart disease.