What type of blood vessels usually carries oxygen-rich blood?

Arteries are the blood vessels that usually carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Oxygenated blood flows from the heart's left ventricle into the aorta, which is the body's largest artery. The aorta branches into smaller arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood to various organs, tissues, and cells throughout the body. The oxygenated blood is then exchanged for deoxygenated blood, which is carried back to the heart by veins. The pulmonary arteries, however, are the exception to this general rule. They carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs, where it is oxygenated, and then return oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the heart through pulmonary veins.