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Why is an artery red and veins blue?

Best Answers

Neither are red or blue; the blood that passes through them is brighter red in arteries and a deeper maroon in veins because of the difference in oxygen dissolved. read more

They aren't actually blue, but there are reasons why veins look that way: Skin absorbs blue light: Subcutaneous fat only allows blue light to penetrate skin all the way to veins, so this is the color that is reflected back. read more

In textbooks, arteries are often colored red while veins are colored blue. This is just to distinguish between oxygenated and deoxygenated blood for demonstrative purposes. In fact, all blood is red. Oxygenated blood is a brighter red while deoxygenated blood is a darker red color. read more

Veins are the only blood vessels that can be seen near the surface of the skin since arteries are generally present at deeper levels. The light incident upon skin tends to show veins as bluish because of the different absorptions of the red and blue wavelengths. read more