What type of blood vessels are responsible for returning blood to the heart?

Veins are the type of blood vessels responsible for returning blood to the heart. They have thinner walls compared to arteries, allowing them to hold a larger volume of blood and have the capacity for lower pressure flow back to the heart. This design is crucial for the return of deoxygenated blood from various parts of the body back to the heart, specifically the right atrium, where it then gets pumped to the lungs for oxygenation.

In contrast, arteries are responsible for carrying oxygen-rich blood away from the heart to the tissues. Capillaries are tiny vessels where the exchange of gases, nutrients, and waste occurs between blood and tissues, and they connect arteries and veins. The aorta is a major artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Each of these other vessel types plays an essential role in the circulatory system, but veins specifically are tasked with the important function of returning blood to the heart.