Artery

[Gk. arteria, the windpipe; a blood¬ ve el.] One of the ve els or tubes which carry arterial blood from the heart throughout the body, and venous blood from the heart to the lungs. They have thicker and more muscular walls than veins, and are connected with them by capillaries. In man and other mammals the arteries which contain arterialized blood receive it from the left ventricle of the heart through the aorta. The pulmonary artery conveys the venous blood from the right ventricle to the lungs, whence the arterialized blood is returned through the pulmonary veins. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Common Things