Cambridge O Level Biology · Syllabus 5090 · Transport in Humans
Pulmonary Artery
What is Pulmonary Artery?
The pulmonary artery is the blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs. It is an artery because it carries blood away from the heart, not because of the oxygen content of that blood, and together with the pulmonary vein it is the standard exception to the assumption that arteries always carry oxygenated blood.
This definition is part of the Transport in Humans chapter in Cambridge O Level Biology.
Common mistakes with Pulmonary Artery
- “Arteries carry oxygenated blood; veins carry deoxygenated blood.” CorrectArteries carry blood away from the heart and veins carry blood towards it. The pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood and the pulmonary vein carries oxygenated blood, and both are named correctly.
- “Arteries always carry oxygenated blood.” Why wrongIt takes a pattern that happens to hold in the systemic circuit and treats it as a definition. WriteAn artery carries blood away from the heart. The pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs.
Questions students ask about Pulmonary Artery
Do arteries always carry oxygenated blood?
No. An artery is defined by direction: it carries blood away from the heart. The pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle to the lungs, and the pulmonary vein carries oxygenated blood from the lungs back to the heart.