An artery is a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to other parts of the body.
Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries. The Effective Arterial Blood Volume (EABV) is that extracellular fluid (ECF) which fills the arterial system.
The arterial system is the higher-pressure portion of the circulatory system. Arterial pressure varies between the peak pressure during heart contraction, called the systolic pressure, and the minimum, or diastolic pressure between contractions, when the heart expands and refills. This pressure variation within the artery produces the pulse which is observable in any artery, and reflects heart activity. Arteries also aid the heart in pumping blood. Arteries carry blood away from the heart, whereas veins keep blood flowing towards the heart. Except pulmonary arteries, which carry blood to the lungs for oxygenation, all arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to the tissues that require oxygen.
SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA :
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