Talk:Umbilical vein

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Shouldn't it be called umbilical artery? dave 03:43, Apr 16, 2004 (UTC)

No, it's the umbilical vein. The terms vein and artery indicate direction of bloodflow to or away from the heart, respectively—they are not related to the oxygen content of the blood contained within the vessel. Thus, even though the vessel carries oxygenated blood, it's still called the umbilical vein because it's carrying the blood to the heart from the placenta. (FYI, vessels that carry deoxygenated blood back to the placenta are called the umbilical arteries.) --Diberri | Talk 06:18, Apr 16, 2004 (UTC)