Answer to Aardvark Codgers, Savant Extraordinaire?
Correct answer is D. In general, veins have valves and arteries do not. The presence of the valves keeps the forward flow of blood back to the heart, whereas the pressure in the arteries eliminates the need for valves. In the heart, paradoxically, the ascending aorta and pulmonary artery both have valves, whereas the IVC and SVC lack valves. Indeed, the right atrial and ventricular contractions are conducted up into the internal jugular vein, and forward flow to the heart in the IVC is driven by the differential pressure created by normal respiration.
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Answer to this question is based on material presented in lectures 12 of the Thorax Lecture Series.
= Great cardiac vein
= Pulmonary trunk
= Ascending aorta
= IVC
= Middle cardiac veins