Which vessel carries deoxygenated blood away from the heart toward the lungs?

• A. Aorta
• B. Pulmonary veins
• C. Pulmonary arteries
• D. Inferior vena cava

Answer: (C)

Understanding how blood moves in the pulmonary circuit helps here: blood that needs to be oxygenated travels from the heart to the lungs and back. The vessel that moves deoxygenated blood away from the heart toward the lungs is the pulmonary artery. After the right ventricle pumps into the pulmonary trunk, it splits into the pulmonary arteries that carry that blood to the lungs for gas exchange. In contrast, arteries normally carry blood away from the heart, but the pulmonary arteries are the exception by delivering deoxygenated blood to the lungs. Oxygenated blood then returns to the heart through the pulmonary veins. For completeness: the aorta carries oxygenated blood to the body, the inferior vena cava brings deoxygenated blood from the body back to the heart, and the pulmonary veins bring oxygenated blood from the lungs back to the heart.