Library · Anatomy
Artery
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An artery is a vessel that carries blood away from the heart. That, and nothing more than that, is what makes a vessel an artery: the direction the blood is going with respect to the heart, whether it is leaving the heart or heading back to it.
How much oxygen that blood carries is not part of the definition and does not decide anything. It is like the streets leading out of a town square: they are named for where they go, not for whatever the trucks on them happen to be hauling. A vessel that heads away from the heart is an artery no matter how much oxygen it carries.
In brief
An artery is a blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart.
The oxygen content of the blood does not determine whether a vessel is an artery.
Sources (2)
- OpenStax, Rice UniversityAnatomy and Physiology: Chapter 20 ReviewPublished
- OpenStax, Rice UniversityPharmacology for Nurses: Introduction to the Heart, Circulation, and Blood FlowPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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