Which heart chamber pumps oxygen-rich blood into the systemic circulation?

• A. Right Ventricle.
• B. Left Atrium.
• C. Left Ventricle.
• D. Right Atrium.

Answer: (C)

Pumping oxygen-rich blood into the body’s circulation is the job of the left ventricle. After blood picks up oxygen in the lungs, it returns to the heart and enters the left atrium, then moves into the left ventricle. The left ventricle then ejects this oxygenated blood into the aorta, from which it travels through systemic arteries to supply tissues throughout the body. The left ventricle has a thick muscular wall because it must generate high pressure to push blood through the entire systemic circuit. The other chambers handle different parts of the circulation: the right side is involved with sending deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the atria receive blood before it moves to the ventricles. So the chamber that pumps oxygen-rich blood into systemic circulation is the left ventricle.