What type of blood vessel returns blood to the heart from the capillaries?

The correct answer is veins, which play a crucial role in the circulatory system by returning deoxygenated blood back to the heart after it has passed through the capillaries. Capillaries are tiny blood vessels where the exchange of gases, nutrients, and waste occurs between blood and tissues. Once this exchange is complete, the blood must travel back to the heart, and it does so through a network of increasingly larger vessels that culminate in the veins.

Veins have thinner walls than arteries and contain valves that help prevent backflow, ensuring that blood flows in the right direction despite the lower pressure in the venous system. While venules, which are small blood vessels that connect capillaries to veins, also carry blood back to the heart, they directly lead into veins that ultimately make the final return journey. Therefore, while both veins and venules play a part in transporting blood back to the heart, veins are the more definitive answer when considering the primary vessels responsible for this function.