I: | Oxygenated blood from the lungs and de-oxygenated blood from the respiring tissues enter the heart through separate atria. |
II: | When atria contract, the two blood streams pass into a common ventricle. |
III: | From the ventricle the blood is pumped via a spiral valve to the appropriate vessel, the aorta for oxygenated blood and pulmonary artery for deoxygenated blood. |