Valtimo

Valtimo is a Finnish word meaning artery, a blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart. In the circulatory system, arteries have thick muscular walls to withstand the pressure of oxygen-rich blood as it is propelled through the body. They branch into smaller vessels called arterioles and eventually into capillaries where exchange with tissues occurs. In everyday language and medical contexts, valtimo is used to refer to arteries in general, and the term is part of standard Finnish anatomical terminology.

Valtimo is also the name of a place in Finland. It was a municipality in the North Karelia region, located in eastern Finland. As part of nationwide municipal reform efforts, it transitioned from an independent municipality to local administration within a larger neighboring municipality. The area is characterized by a rural landscape, including forests and lakes typical of North Karelia, and it has connections to local culture and regional history.