Great Vessels of the Heart The great vessels of the heart include the aorta and pulmonary trunk that carry blood away from the heart and the inferior vena cava, superior vena cava and pulmonary veins that carry blood to the heart. • superior vena cava: drains blood from the ______________________________________ (regions of body) to empty into the superior region of the __________________________; contains no valves; • inferior vena cava: drains blood from the __________________________________________ (regions of body) to empty into the inferior region of the __________________________; contains single valve at its terminal end called the Eustachian valve; • pulmonary veins: 4 in number (right and left pairs); carry blood from the right and left lungs to drain into the ___________________________ to complete the pulmonary circuit; coloured red in models since they carry oxygenated blood (the only veins to do so); do not contain valves; • pulmonary trunk: also referred to as the main pulmonary artery; terminally divides into the right and left pulmonary arteries; carries deoxygenated blood from the _____________________________ to the lungs; coloured blue in models since it carries deoxygenated blood (the only arteries to do so); origin of pulmonary blood circuit; • aorta: carries blood from the _____________________________ of the heart to most parts of the body; origin of systemic blood circuit. answers only