Ar"ter*y (&?;), n.; pl.
Arteries (&?;). [L. arteria windpipe, artery, Gr.
&?;.] 1. The trachea or windpipe. [Obs.] "Under
the artery, or windpipe, is the mouth of the stomach."
Holland.
2. (Anat.) One of the vessels or tubes which
carry either venous or arterial blood from the heart. They have tricker and
more muscular walls than veins, and are connected with them by
capillaries.
&fist; In man and other mammals, the arteries which contain arterialized
blood receive it from the left ventricle of the heart through the aorta.
See Aorta. The pulmonary artery conveys the venous blood from
the right ventricle to the lungs, whence the arterialized blood is returned
through the pulmonary veins.
3. Hence: Any continuous or ramified channel of
communication; as, arteries of trade or commerce.
