Arteries (from the Greek ἀρτηρία - artēria, "windpipe, artery") are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries. The EABV is that ICF fluid which fills the arterial system.
The circulatory system is extremely important for sustaining life. Its proper functioning is responsible for the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to all cells, as well as the removal of carbon dioxide and waste products, maintenance of optimum pH, and the mobility of the elements, proteins and cells of the immune system. In developed countries, the two leading causes of death, myocardial infarction and stroke, each may directly result from an arterial system that has been slowly and progressively compromised by years of deterioration. (See atherosclerosis).