What is the type of blood vessel that returns blood to the heart?

• A. Vein
• B. Artery
• C. Capillary
• D. Aorta

Answer: (A)

The correct answer is a vein, which is a type of blood vessel specifically designed to return deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Veins have thinner walls compared to arteries and contain valves that help prevent the backflow of blood, ensuring that it moves in the right direction toward the heart.

In the circulatory system, blood travels through arteries away from the heart, delivering oxygen and nutrients to tissues. After the oxygen is utilized, the blood returns to the heart through veins. This process is crucial for maintaining efficient blood circulation and ensuring that the heart can re-oxygenate the blood in the lungs before it is pumped back out to the body.

Understanding the role of veins helps clarify their importance in the overall functioning of the cardiovascular system, distinguishing them from arteries, which carry blood away from the heart, and capillaries, which are involved in the exchange of substances between blood and tissues. The aorta, although a major blood vessel, serves as the primary artery that carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body, not as a vein returning blood to it.