Final answer:
Blood flows into the pulmonary veins after being oxygenated in the lungs, making its next destination the left atrium of the heart, then it's pumped through the aorta to the body.
Step-by-step explanation:
After being oxygenated in the lungs, blood flows next into the pulmonary veins. These are the vessels that transport oxygen-rich blood from the lungs back to the left atrium of the heart.
This is in contrast to the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. The process then continues as the left atrium contracts, sending the oxygenated blood to the left ventricle, which then pumps it into the aorta.
The oxygenated blood in the aorta is distributed throughout the body. It is important to note that although the pulmonary artery and the inferior vena cava carry deoxygenated blood, the pulmonary vein and the aorta carry oxygenated blood.