Name the two great veins that bring blood directly to the heart.

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Multiple Choice

Name the two great veins that bring blood directly to the heart.

The main idea is: the two large veins that return blood to the heart from the systemic circuit are the superior and inferior venae cavae. They dump deoxygenated blood directly into the right atrium—the upper body drains via the superior vena cava, and the lower body drains via the inferior vena cava. Pulmonary veins bring oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium, not to the right atrium, so they’re not the vessels in question. The coronary sinus collects venous blood from the heart muscle into the right atrium but is a much smaller vessel than the vena cavae. The azygos vein drains the thoracic wall and channels into the superior vena cava, but it isn’t one of the two principal great veins that directly return systemic blood to the heart.

The main idea is: the two large veins that return blood to the heart from the systemic circuit are the superior and inferior venae cavae. They dump deoxygenated blood directly into the right atrium—the upper body drains via the superior vena cava, and the lower body drains via the inferior vena cava.

Pulmonary veins bring oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium, not to the right atrium, so they’re not the vessels in question. The coronary sinus collects venous blood from the heart muscle into the right atrium but is a much smaller vessel than the vena cavae. The azygos vein drains the thoracic wall and channels into the superior vena cava, but it isn’t one of the two principal great veins that directly return systemic blood to the heart.

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