Noun

(arteries)

An efferent blood vessel from the heart, conveying blood away from the heart regardless of oxygenation status; see pulmonary artery.

* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Stephen P. Lownie], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/david-m-pelz David M. Pelz

, magazine=(American Scientist), title= Stents to Prevent Stroke , passage=As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels. The reason plaque forms isn’t entirely known, but it seems to be related to high levels of cholesterol inducing an inflammatory response, which can also attract and trap more cellular debris over time.}}

A major transit corridor.

Noun

(en-noun)

Blood which is needed for continued life; blood regarded as the seat of life.

* circa 1980 , George Spelvin, Petticoat Loose'', Act II, Scene 1, published in ''George Spelvin's theatre book , volume 3:

You didn't come to me in time. And by the time you came to me that fool of a doctor had bled and leeched the lifeblood out of Timmy.

(figuratively) That which is required for continued existence or function.

:Gasoline is the lifeblood of the modern city.

* 2006 , James E. Kibler, Memory's Keep , page 55:

The road brought invaders who left them hungry and dug up the dead. The road took living children away and made them dead to home. It was as if the roads were veins that bled off lifeblood but never pumped it back in.