The circulatory system is made up of the vessels and the muscles that help and control the flow of the blood around the body. This process is called circulation. The main parts of the system are the heart, arteries, capillaries and veins.
As blood begins to circulate, it leaves the heart from the left ventricle and goes into the aorta. The aorta is the largest artery in the body. The blood leaving the aorta is full of oxygen. This is important for the cells in the brain and the body to do their work. The oxygen rich blood travels throughout the body in its system of arteries into the smallest arterioles.
On its way back to the heart, the blood travels through a system of veins. As it reaches the lungs, the carbon dioxide (a waste product) is removed from the blood and replace with fresh oxygen that we have inhaled through the lungs.