Which vessels carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart?

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

Answer: (C)

Blood becomes oxygenated in the lungs and then needs to return to the heart to be pumped out to the body. The vessels that do this are the pulmonary veins, which carry oxygen-rich blood from the lungs into the left atrium. From there it moves into the left ventricle and out through the aorta to nourish the tissues. This pulmonary-vein return is an exception to the usual rule that veins carry deoxygenated blood and arteries carry oxygenated blood. By contrast, the pulmonary arteries carry blood from the right ventricle to the lungs (deoxygenated), the aorta carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the body, and the superior vena cava brings deoxygenated blood from the upper body to the right atrium.