Which vessel carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle toward the lungs?

• A. Pulmonary Trunk
• B. Inferior Vena Cava
• C. Left Pulmonary Vein
• D. Descending Aorta

Answer: (A)

Understanding how blood moves between heart and lungs helps explain why the vessel leaving the right ventricle toward the lungs is the pulmonary trunk. The right ventricle pumps blood into the pulmonary circulation, and the first vessel it enters is the pulmonary trunk. This major artery carries blood that is still deoxygenated, directing it toward the lungs where gas exchange will occur. From the pulmonary trunk, it splits into the left and right pulmonary arteries that deliver the blood to each lung.

After the lungs oxygenate the blood, it returns to the heart through the pulmonary veins, which carry oxygenated blood to the left atrium. In contrast, one of the other vessels brings deoxygenated blood from the body back to the heart (the inferior vena cava), the left pulmonary vein carries already oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium, and the descending aorta distributes oxygenated blood to the body.