artery – thick blood vessels which carry blood away from the heart

(Pronounced ar-tuh-ree)

To remember the meaning of artery, use the following mnemonic:

Archery, like an artery, is away from the heart.

An artery is a type of blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart to delivery oxygen and nutrients to tissues and organs throughout the body. Arteries have thick, muscular walls which allow them to withstand the high pressure created by the heart's pumping action. Arteries carry oxygenated blood, with the notable exception of the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation. The largest artery in the human body is the aorta, which receives blood directly from the left ventricle of the heart and branches into smaller arteries that supply different body regions. As arteries branch and get further from the heart, they become smaller and are called arterioles, which connect to capillaries where gas and nutrients exchange occurs. 

The following is a visual representation of the arterial system of the human body.