The Probert Encyclopaedia of Medicine

PULMONARY ARTERY

The pulmonary artery (pulmonary trunk) carries blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs. It is the only artery that carries dark, low-oxygen blood. The artery is short and wide (about 2 inches in length and 1 1/5 inches in diameter). It arises from the base of the right ventricle and extends upward and branches into two arteries of nearly equal size. The right pulmonary artery is longer and larger and runs horizontally outward to the base of the right lung where it divides in two branches for the two lobes. The left pulmonary artery is shorter and somewhat smaller. It runs horizontally to the base of the left lobe where it divides in two branches for the two lobes.
Research Pulmonary Artery