Which vessel carries deoxygenated blood from the body back to the heart?

• A. Arteries
• B. Capillaries
• C. Veins
• D. Lymph vessels

Answer: (C)

Veins are the vessels that return blood to the heart after it has delivered oxygen to the body's tissues. In systemic circulation, blood travels from the heart through arteries, moves through tiny capillaries where gas exchange occurs, and then returns through veins to the heart’s right atrium via the large vena cavae. Arteries carry blood away from the heart, capillaries are the sites of exchange, and lymph vessels carry lymph, not blood. An important nuance is that in the pulmonary circuit the situation reverses for the blood’s oxygen status, with pulmonary veins returning oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart and pulmonary arteries carrying deoxygenated blood to the lungs. The general rule is that veins return deoxygenated blood to the heart.