Arteries (from Greek ἀρτηρία (artēria), meaning “windpipe, artery”) are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. While most arteries carry oxygenated blood, there are two exceptions to this norm, the pulmonary and the umbilical arteries. The effective arterial blood volume is that extracellular fluid which fills the arterial system.
The brain is one of the most highly perfused organs in the body. It is therefore not surprising that the arterial blood supply to the human brain consists of two pairs of large arteries, the right and left internal carotid and the right and left vertebral arteries.
The internal carotid arteries principally supply the cerebrum, whereas the two vertebral arteries join distally to form the basilar artery. Branches of the vertebral and basilar arteries supply blood for the cerebellum and brain stem.
see Arterial wall.