Video Transcript
Which of the major blood vessels
carries blood back into the heart?
Here, we have a very simple diagram
of the human heart. When blood is pumped out of the
heart, it leaves through arteries. Arteries carry the blood away from
the heart to all the other organs and tissues which require it. This is easy to remember because
the words “artery” and “away” both start with the letter A.
When the blood reaches the organs
and tissues, the arteries split off into networks of smaller vessels called
capillaries. As blood moves through the
capillaries, oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged between the blood and the
cells. This allows the organs and tissues
to continue to carry out cellular respiration.
Following gas exchange, the blood
is carried back toward and into the heart by veins. A good way to remember this is that
within the word “vein” is the word “in.” We have therefore determined that
the major blood vessels which carry blood back into the heart are veins.
