The circulatory system consists of the heart, veins and arteries. The heart is a muscle about the size of a fist that pumps blood through two circuits. In the pulmonary circuit, the heart pumps oxygen-poor blood to the lungs to receive oxygen and pumps it back to the heart. In the systemic circuit, the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood through arteries that branch into capillaries where nutrients and oxygen are exchanged, and veins return the blood back to the heart.