The pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood

Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....

 from the heart

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

 to the lungs. They are the only arteries

Artery

Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries....

 (other than umbilical arteries

Umbilical artery

The umbilical artery is a paired artery that is found in the abdominal and pelvic regions. In the fetus, it extends into the umbilical cord.-Umbilical arteries in the fetus:...

 in the fetus) that carry deoxygenated blood.

In the human heart

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

, the pulmonary trunk (pulmonary artery or main pulmonary artery) begins at the base of the right ventricle

Right ventricle

The right ventricle is one of four chambers in the human heart. It receives deoxygenated blood from the right atrium via the tricuspid valve, and pumps it into the pulmonary artery via the pulmonary valve and pulmonary trunk....

. It is short and wide - approximately 5 cm (2 inches) in length and 3 cm (1.2 inches) in diameter. It then branches into two pulmonary arteries (left and right), which deliver de-oxygenated blood to the corresponding lung

Lung

The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...

.

In contrast to the pulmonary arteries, the bronchial arteries supply mainly nutrition to the lungs themselves.

Role in disease

Pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension

In medicine, pulmonary hypertension is an increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, or pulmonary capillaries, together known as the lung vasculature, leading to shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, and other symptoms, all of which are exacerbated by exertion...

 occurs alone and as a consequence of a number of lung diseases

Pulmonology

In medicine, pulmonology is the specialty that deals with diseases of the respiratory tract and respiratory disease. It is called chest medicine and respiratory medicine in some countries and areas...

. It can also be a consequence of heart disease

Heart disease

Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...

 (Eisenmenger's syndrome

Eisenmenger's syndrome

Eisenmenger's syndrome is defined as the process in which a left-to-right shunt caused by a congenital heart defect causes increased flow through the pulmonary vasculature, causing pulmonary hypertension, which in turn, causes increased pressures in the right side of the heart and reversal of the...

) but equally a cause (right-ventricular heart failure); it also occurs as a consequence of pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...

 and scleroderma

Scleroderma

Systemic sclerosis or systemic scleroderma is a systemic autoimmune disease or systemic connective tissue disease that is a subtype of scleroderma.-Skin symptoms:...

. It is characterised by reduced exercise tolerance. Severe forms, generally, have a dismal prognosis.

See also

• Chronic obstructive lung disease
• Pulmonary hypertension
  Pulmonary hypertension
  In medicine, pulmonary hypertension is an increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, or pulmonary capillaries, together known as the lung vasculature, leading to shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, and other symptoms, all of which are exacerbated by exertion...
  
  
• Thromboembolic disease
• Pulmonary circulation
  Pulmonary circulation
  Pulmonary circulation is the half portion of the cardiovascular system which carries Oxygen-depleted Blood away from the heart, to the Lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart. Encyclopedic description and discovery of the pulmonary circulation is widely attributed to Doctor Ibn...
  
  
• Rasmussen's aneurysm
  Rasmussen's aneurysm
  Rasmussen's aneurysm is a pulmonary artery aneurysm adjacent or within a tuberculous cavity. It occurs in up to 5% of patients with such lesions. It may lead to rupture and haemorrhage...
  
  

External links

- "Heart: The Pericardial sac and Great vessels

Great vessels

Great vessels is a term used to refer collectively to the four large vessels that bring blood to and from the heart. These are:*Superior vena cava*Inferior vena cava*Pulmonary artery*AortaAll four pulmonary veins are considered apart of the great vessels...

" - "Heart: Openings of Great Vessels into the Pericardial Sac" - "Mediastinal surface of the right lung

Right lung

The human right lung is divided into three lobes , superior, middle, and inferior, by two interlobular fissures:-Fissures:...

." - "Mediastinal surface of the left lung

Left lung

The human left lung is divided into two lobes, an upper and a lower, by the oblique fissure, which extends from the costal to the mediastinal surface of the lung both above and below the hilum....

."