artery n
1. a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body [syn: arteria, arterial blood vessel]
2. a major thoroughfare that bears important traffic

Artery \Ar"ter*y\, n.; pl. Arteries. [L. arteria windpipe, artery, Gr. ?.]
1. The trachea or windpipe. [Obs.] ``Under the artery, or windpipe, is the mouth of the stomach.'' --Holland.
2. (Anat.) One of the vessels or tubes which carry either venous or arterial blood from the heart. They have tricker and more muscular walls than veins, and are connected with them by capillaries. Note: In man and other mammals, the arteries which contain arterialized blood receive it from the left ventricle of the heart through the aorta. See 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.
3. Hence: Any continuous or ramified channel of communication; as, arteries of trade or commerce.

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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 circulatory system is extremely important for sustaining life. Its proper functioning is responsible for the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to all cells, as well as the removal of carbon dioxide and waste products, maintenance of optimum pH, and the mobility of the elements, proteins and cells of the immune system. In developed countries, the two leading causes of death, myocardial infarction and stroke, each may directly result from an arterial system that has been slowly and progressively compromised by years of deterioration. (See atherosclerosis).

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. Except for the 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.

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