Do all arteries carry oxygenated blood?

No. An artery is defined by direction of flow—blood leaving the heart—not by how much oxygen it carries. In the systemic circuit, arteries usually deliver oxygen-rich blood to body tissues, but in the pulmonary circuit the pulmonary arteries carry oxygen-poor blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs for gas exchange.

OpenStax’s Anatomy and Physiology 2e states that systemic arteries provide oxygen-rich blood while pulmonary arteries carry blood low in oxygen exclusively to the lungs; pulmonary veins then return freshly oxygenated blood to the heart.

Source: OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels.

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