Which blood vessels carry blood away from the heart?

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Arteries carry blood away from the heart. This reflects the heart’s pumping action: blood is ejected into the arterial system and travels through thick, muscular walls that can withstand high pressure and elastic fibers that help smooth out the pulse. In the systemic circulation, arteries deliver oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to body tissues; in the pulmonary circulation, arteries still move blood away from the heart, but that blood is deoxygenated as it heads to the lungs to be reoxygenated. Veins return blood to the heart, capillaries are the tiny exchange vessels between blood and tissues, and venules are small veins that collect blood from capillaries.