  arteries ()á¼ÏÏÎ·ÏÎ¯Î±, henry george liddell, robert scott, a greek-english lexicon, on perseus are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. while most arteries carry oxygenated blood, there are two exceptions to this, the pulmonary and the umbilical arteries. the effective arterial blood volume is that extracellular fluid which fills the arterial system. the circulatory system is vital for sustaining life. its normal functioning is responsible for the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to all cells, as well as the removal of carbon dioxide and waste products, the maintenance of optimum ph, and the circulation of proteins and cells of the immune system. in developed countries, the two leading causes of death, myocardial infarction (heart attack), and stroke, may each directly result from an arterial system that has been slowly and progressively compromised by years of deterioration. == description == 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 oxygenated blood away from the heart to the tissues, except for pulmonary arteries, which carry blood to the lungs for oxygenation. (usually veins carry deoxygenated blood to the heart but the pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood.) == anatomy ==   the anatomy of arteries can be separated into gross anatomy, at the macroscopic le
Angiology