What is primarily transported by venules?

Venules play a crucial role in the circulatory system by collecting deoxygenated blood from capillaries. After blood reaches the capillaries, which facilitate the exchange of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and waste products between blood and tissues, it becomes deoxygenated as it gives up oxygen and picks up carbon dioxide and other metabolic wastes. The venules then serve as the vessels that transport this deoxygenated blood back toward the larger veins and ultimately back to the heart.

While other options mention functions related to the cardiovascular system, they do not specifically pertain to the primary function of venules. Oxygen-rich blood is transported through arteries from the heart, nutrients are primarily absorbed in the intestines and transported by the blood in arteries, and waste products are removed from tissues and transported in various ways throughout the vascular system, but venules are specifically designed to return deoxygenated blood after nutrient and gas exchange occurs. Thus, the primary function of venules is accurately represented by the transport of deoxygenated blood from capillaries.