From where does blood drain into the right atrium?

Study for the HESI A2 Anatomy exam with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each designed to deepen your understanding. Prepare to excel and achieve your best score!

Blood drains into the right atrium primarily through the superior and inferior vena cavae, which collect deoxygenated blood from the body. The correct response pertains to the right atrium receiving blood directly from the systemic circulation. This process involves blood returning from various parts of the body that have utilized the oxygen and are now carrying carbon dioxide back to the heart for reoxygenation.

Focusing on the other options, blood does not drain into the right atrium from the lungs because the pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood away from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation. Once oxygenated, the blood returns to the left atrium via the pulmonary veins. The aorta is the major artery that carries oxygenated blood out of the heart to the body's tissues; therefore, it does not drain into the right atrium. Blood from the myocardium, the heart muscle itself, does return via the coronary veins, but they empty into the right atrium indirectly through the coronary sinus.

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