What is poorly oxygenated blood cells?

Answer 1

Poorly oxygenated red blood cells are red blood cells that have lost most of their oxygen as they travel through the arteries and capillaries. They become depleted of oxygen as oxygen diffuses from the blood into the body cells that need oxygen for aerobic cellular respiration. Red blood cells move through the body as follows: Red blood cells become depleted of oxygen as they travel through the arteries and capillaries, during which they are deoxygenated, and travel through the veins to the superior and inferior vena cavae, the large veins that collect blood from the veins of the upper and lower body, and then they enter the right atrium of the heart and then the right ventricle, which pumps the deoxygenated blood through the pulmonary arteries to the lungs where they are reoxygenated. The newly oxygenated red blood cells enter the left atrium via the pulmonary veins, travels to the left ventricle which pumps the oxygenated blood through the aorta, which will branch off into smaller and smaller arteries and eventually capillaries.

*The capillaries contain both arterial and venous blood. The arteries branch off into arterioles, and then capillaries, and once the blood is deoxygenated, continues through venous capillaries that branch into venules, and then veins.

Click on the related link to see an article with illustrations on the circulatory system.