Certified Cardiovascular Technician Practice Exam

The vessels responsible for transporting deoxygenated blood to the heart are the coronary veins. These veins collect deoxygenated blood that has circulated through the heart muscle (myocardium) and returns it to the right atrium of the heart. The coronary veins drain the blood from the myocardium into the coronary sinus, which empties directly into the right atrium, ensuring that the heart can effectively recycle blood for reoxygenation in the lungs.

In contrast, pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs for oxygenation. Meanwhile, the coronary arteries supply oxygenated blood to the heart muscle itself. The aorta is the largest artery in the body and is responsible for carrying oxygenated blood away from the heart to the rest of the body, thus not involved in the transport of deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Therefore, the involvement of coronary veins in returning deoxygenated blood highlights their crucial role in the circulatory process.