Aorta.
The aorta is the largest and principal artery in the body. From the aorta branches lead to all the organs of the body, supplying them with oxygen and nutrients.
Coronary Artery.
The coronary artery is also a branch of the aorta. It supplies the heart tissue with oxygen and nutrients.
Pulmonary Artery.
The pulmonary artery arises from the right-hand upper corner of the roght ventricle. It branches into the left and right pulmonary arteries which lead to the right and left lung respectively, where the blood is oxygenated.
Superior Vena Cava.
This vein returns deoxygenated blood from the head, arms and thorax to the right atrium.
Inferior Vena Cava.
This vein returns deoxygenated blood from the abdomen and legs to the right atrium.
Coronary Vein.
Deoxygenated blood containing carbon dioxide and waste products is returned from the heart muscle to the right atrium through this vessel.
Pulmonary Veins.
The four pulmonary veins, two from each lung, carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium.
Hepatic Portal Vein.
The hepatic portal vein leads from the internal organs, especially the small intestine, to the liver. Its main purpose is to carry blood that contains digested food such as glucose, from the liver small intestine to the liver, where some of the food is deposited and stored such as glucose that is stored as glycogen in the liver.
Blood
The average human body contains about 4 to 5 liters of blood. As a liquid connective tissue, it transports many substances through the body and helps to maintain homeostasis of nutrients, wastes, and gases. Blood is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and liquid plasma.
Red Blood Cells: Red blood cells, also known as erythrocytes, are by far the most common type of blood cell and make up about 45% of blood volume. Erythrocytes are produced inside of red bone marrow from stem cells at the astonishing rate of about 2 million cells every second. The