What is the function of arteries?

• A. Arteries
• B. Veins
• C. Capillaries
• D. Lymphatics

Answer: (A)

Arteries carry blood away from the heart. They have thick, muscular, elastic walls to withstand and transmit the high pressure produced by the heart’s pumping, and they branch into smaller vessels to deliver blood to tissues. In the systemic circulation they usually carry oxygen-rich blood, while the pulmonary arteries carry blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen. Veins do the opposite, returning blood to the heart; capillaries are the tiny sites where oxygen and nutrients are exchanged with body tissues; lymphatics move lymph fluid. Since the function described is moving blood away from the heart, arteries are the vessel type that fits this role.