The heart's own blood supply, front and back: 12 vessels to name.
Label the Cardiac Veins and Coronary Arteries
Name Date
Tap the right coronary artery
1 of 12
More options
Write the name of each numbered vessel.Answer key
Right coronary artery
Left coronary artery
Anterior interventricular artery
Circumflex artery
Marginal artery
Posterior interventricular artery
Great cardiac vein
Anterior cardiac veins
Coronary sinus
Middle cardiac vein
Small cardiac vein
Posterior cardiac vein
Drawn for this site on 2026-10-04 by script. Licence: own work.
Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a vessel is answered.
Right coronary arteryRuns in the coronary sulcus. It supplies the right atrium, parts of both ventricles and the conduction system. It rises from the aorta just above the aortic valve.
Left coronary arteryThe short first stretch from the aorta. It supplies the left side of the heart and the septum, and soon splits in two.
Anterior interventricular arteryThe larger branch of the left coronary artery. It runs down the front groove between the ventricles. Also called the left anterior descending artery (LAD).
Circumflex arteryFollows the coronary sulcus round the left side to the back. A branch of the left coronary artery.
Posterior interventricular arteryRuns down the back groove between the ventricles. A branch of the right coronary artery. Also called the posterior descending artery.
Great cardiac veinRuns up beside the anterior interventricular artery. Then goes round the coronary sulcus to the coronary sinus.
Coronary sinusLarge, thin-walled vein in the groove on the back of the heart. It collects the cardiac veins and empties into the right atrium.
Arteries: 6 1
Marginal arterySupplies the surface of the right ventricle. A branch of the right coronary artery.
Veins: 6 4
Anterior cardiac veinsSmall veins draining the front of the right ventricle. They go straight into the right atrium, bypassing the coronary sinus.
Middle cardiac veinRuns beside the posterior interventricular artery and drains into the coronary sinus.
Small cardiac veinRuns with the right coronary artery. It drains the back of the right atrium and ventricle into the coronary sinus.
Posterior cardiac veinDrains the back of the left ventricle into the coronary sinus.
How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 19.1 Heart Anatomy, https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/19-1-heart-anatomy : the left and right coronary arteries arising from aortic sinuses just above the aortic valve; the left coronary artery supplying the left atrium, left ventricle and septum; the circumflex artery following the coronary sulcus to the left; the anterior interventricular artery (left anterior descending, LAD) in the anterior interventricular sulcus; the right coronary artery in the coronary sulcus supplying the right atrium, parts of both ventricles and the conduction system, with marginal arteries to the right ventricle and, posteriorly, the posterior interventricular (posterior descending) artery; the great cardiac vein beside the anterior interventricular artery flowing along the coronary sulcus into the coronary sinus; the posterior, middle and small cardiac veins; the coronary sinus as a large thin-walled vein on the posterior surface emptying into the right atrium; the anterior cardiac veins draining the anterior right ventricle directly into the right atrium. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-04 by script. The outline of the heart, the auricles, the grooves and the course of each vessel are laid out after three public domain plates of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, 20th edition, 1918 (Henry Gray, plates by Henry Vandyke Carter and others; public domain; files from Wikimedia Commons): fig. 492 'Sternocostal surface of heart' (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray492.png), fig. 491 'Base and diaphragmatic surface of heart' (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray491.png) and fig. 556 'Base and diaphragmatic surface of heart' (the cardiac veins; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray556.png). Own drawing in plain geometry, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
Label the cardiac veins and coronary arteries on two views of the heart, arteries in one shade and veins in another. It covers the homework: correctly label the following coronary blood vessels of the heart. Start with the 7 main vessels.
Read the full guide
The arteries
The left and right coronary arteries leave the aorta just above the aortic valve. The left splits into the anterior interventricular artery (LAD), down the front, and the circumflex, round the left side. The right runs round the right side, gives off a marginal artery and, at the back, the posterior interventricular artery.
The veins
The veins run beside the arteries. The great cardiac vein climbs beside the LAD, the middle cardiac vein beside the posterior interventricular artery, and both reach the coronary sinus, which empties into the right atrium. The anterior cardiac veins drain straight into the right atrium.
Arteries and veins travel in pairs: find the artery first, then the vein running beside it.
Questions and answers
What are the main coronary arteries?
The left coronary artery, which splits into the anterior interventricular (LAD) and circumflex arteries, and the right coronary artery, which gives off the marginal and posterior interventricular arteries.
Where does the coronary sinus drain?
Into the right atrium. It is a large, thin-walled vein in the groove on the back of the heart that collects the great, middle and small cardiac veins.
What is the LAD?
The left anterior descending artery, also called the anterior interventricular artery. It runs down the front of the heart between the ventricles.