What does the pulmonary artery carry blood back to?

The pulmonary artery is responsible for transporting deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. After the right ventricle of the heart pumps the blood into the pulmonary artery, it travels towards the lungs where carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen. This is a crucial part of the circulatory process known as pulmonary circulation. The blood picks up oxygen in the lungs and then returns to the heart via the pulmonary veins, completing the cycle. Understanding this function is key to grasping how oxygenation occurs in the body and the role of the pulmonary artery in facilitating this essential exchange. Other options refer to different aspects of the circulatory system but do not accurately describe the role of the pulmonary artery in carrying blood.