Pulmonary vein
This section is about
Structures of the Heart
The pulmonary veins are concerned with the circulation of oxygenated blood around and from the lungs.
This distinguishes the pulmonary veins from all the other veins in the body, which carry deoxygenated blood from organs and body tissues back to the heart.
There are 4 pulmonary veins, two for each lung.
Within the structure of the heart itself the right pulmonary veins pass behind the right auricle, and the left pulmonary veins (together with the left pulmonary artery) pass in front of the thoracic aorta.
For a diagram showing the position of major veins and arteries, visit the page about Systemic Circulation.
More about the heart and blood circulation:
See the following for more about the heart, blood, blood circulation, disorders of the blood circulation system, and related topics.
- The Structure of the Heart
- The Functions of the Heart
- Systemic Circulation (i.e. blood flow around the body beyond the heart and lungs)
- Pulmonary Circulation (i.e. blood flow through the heart and lungs)
- Heart Conditions, heart problems and disorders, both chronic and acute
- Heart Disease Risk Factors, avoidable and unavoidable
- Discoveries about the circulatory system and how it works
- Books about heart disease.
