Your heart has four separate chambers that pump blood. The
chambers are called the right atrium, right ventricle, left
atrium, and left ventricle. The right side of your heart
receives oxygen-poor blood from your veins (the vena cava) and
pumps it to your lungs (through the pulmonary artery), where the
blood picks up oxygen and gets rid of carbon dioxide. The left
side of your heart receives oxygen-rich blood from your lungs
(through the pulmonary veins) and pumps it to the rest of your
body (through the aorta). Last Revised: April 6, 2012 Author:
Healthwise Staff Medical Review: Rakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC -
Cardiology, Electrophysiology & Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD -
Cardiology To learn more visit Healthwise.org © 1995-2012
Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every
health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of
Healthwise, Incorporated.