Which artery carries blood from the heart to the lungs?

The pulmonary artery is responsible for carrying deoxygenated blood away from the heart to the lungs. This is a crucial part of the circulatory system known as pulmonary circulation. When the right ventricle contracts, it pumps deoxygenated blood into the pulmonary artery, which then branches into smaller arteries that lead to the lungs. In the lungs, the blood releases carbon dioxide and picks up oxygen, after which it returns to the heart through the pulmonary veins.

Understanding the role of the pulmonary artery is important because it highlights the separation between the pulmonary circuit, which deals with gas exchange in the lungs, and the systemic circuit, which delivers oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. The other arteries listed, such as the coronary artery, aorta, and femoral artery, serve different functions within the body that do not involve carrying blood to the lungs.