Human Circulatory Blood Chart

Quick Answer: The Human Circulatory Blood Chart is a biology wall chart showing how blood moves around the human body, typically including the four-chambered heart, the main arteries and veins, the pulmonary and systemic circuits and the components of blood. It supports lessons on the circulatory system in school biology.

Following the Blood Around the Body

A circulatory chart tells a route. Most versions show the human figure with arteries drawn in red and veins in blue, the heart at the centre, and the major named vessels: the aorta and its branches, the venae cavae, the pulmonary arteries and veins, and vessels to organs such as the liver and kidneys. The colours are a convention, since all blood is red, darker when low in oxygen, but they make oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood easy to follow.

The heart usually gets its own enlarged section, with right and left atria and ventricles, the tricuspid and bicuspid (mitral) valves, the semilunar valves and the thicker wall of the left ventricle. From here students can trace double circulation: the right side pumps blood to the lungs and back to the left side, and the left side pumps it around the rest of the body. A panel of blood components, plasma, red cells, white cells and platelets, often completes the chart.

Labelling detail varies between editions; some add the capillary network, pulse points or the lymphatic system. Compare the panels with your syllabus before choosing.

Care & Handling

• Hang the circulatory chart where the heart panel is at eye level for seated students.
• Protect it from strong sunlight; faded reds and blues make the colour-coded vessels harder to read.
• Trace routes in class with a pointer rather than a marker.

Applications

• Teaching the pathway of blood through the heart and body, chamber by chamber
• Supporting pulse-rate and exercise investigations with the heart diagram as reference
• Introducing blood components before students view a stained blood smear under the microscope
• Health education lessons on exercise, heart health and blood donation

Specifications

Why Choose LabEquip

Biology teachers and health-education coordinators buy this chart for the circulation unit. It works well with the multi-system Human Physiology Charts when the syllabus moves on to respiration and excretion, and both are supplied from LabEquip’s Educational Charts range, with school orders placed through the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is double circulation?

It means blood passes through the heart twice in one complete circuit of the body. The right side of the heart sends oxygen-poor blood to the lungs, it returns oxygen-rich to the left side, and the left side pumps it to the body. Keeping the two circuits separate delivers blood to the tissues at higher pressure.

Why is the wall of the left ventricle thicker?

The left ventricle pumps blood all around the body, which needs much more force than the right ventricle’s short route to the lungs. Its thicker muscular wall generates that higher pressure.

What is the difference between arteries, veins and capillaries?

Arteries carry blood away from the heart and have thick, elastic, muscular walls to withstand high pressure. Veins carry blood back to the heart, have thinner walls and contain valves that stop backflow. Capillaries are tiny vessels with walls one cell thick, where substances are exchanged with the tissues.

Why is the pulmonary artery shown in blue on many charts?

Charts colour vessels by the blood they carry rather than by their name. The pulmonary artery carries oxygen-poor blood from the heart to the lungs, so it is shown in blue even though it is an artery, while the pulmonary veins, carrying oxygen-rich blood back, are shown in red.

What are the main components of blood?

Blood consists of liquid plasma, which carries dissolved food, hormones, wastes and proteins, and the cells suspended in it: red blood cells, which carry oxygen using haemoglobin; white blood cells, which defend against infection; and platelets, which help blood to clot.

What do the heart valves do?

Valves keep blood flowing in one direction. The tricuspid and bicuspid valves stop blood flowing back from the ventricles into the atria, and the semilunar valves stop it flowing back from the arteries into the ventricles. Their closing makes the heart sounds heard through a stethoscope.

Last Updated: September 2026