Blood Vessels &

Circulation
Lectures 27 - 30
 Five Classes of Blood
Vessels
• Artery Large vessel, carries oxygen
rich blood except for pulmonary artery
• Arteriole small artery
• Capillary microscopic blood vessel,
where exchange occurs
• Venule small vein
• Vein Large vessel, carries oxygen
poor blood except for pulmonary vein
Anatomy of Blood Vessels
• Tunica intima composed of:
– Endothelial lining, Connective tissue and elastic fibers
• Tunica media Concentric sheets of smooth muscle
• Tunica externa Connective tissue sheath, can have
collagen and elastic fibers
 Differences between
arteries and veins
• Artery • Veins
– Thick walled – Thin walled
– Always stays full – Without blood
open lumen shrinks
– Endothelial lining – Endothelial does
cannot contract, not form folds
folds on – Veins tend to
contraction collapse in X-
– Arteries retain section
their cylindrical – Usually with
shape valves
– Usually no valves
Histological
Structure of
Blood
Vessels
 Arteries
• Elasticity allows for diameter change as
blood pressure changes
• Vasoconstriction Contraction of smooth
muscle in blood vessels, very common in all
arteries
• Vasodilation Relaxing or opening of blood
vessel lumen
• Three types of arteries
– Elastic transport large volumes of blood, resilient
due to thick tunica media composed mainly of
elastic fibers,
– Muscular distribution arteries, comprise most
arteries, has more smooth muscle then elastic
fibers
– Arterioles small arteries, small tunica media layer
 Arteriosclerosis
• Thickening and hardening of arterial wall
• Two forms:
– Focal calcification
• Degeneration of smooth muscle by calcium salts
– Arteriosclerosis
• Lipid deposits, turns into a plague after monocytes
 Capillaries
• Exchange of
nutrients and
waste
• One cell thick
• Endothelial
tube inside of
a basal lamina
• Two types:
– Continuous
has a
continuous
endothelium
– Fenestrated
has a “porey”
endothelium
lining
Capillary Beds
Veins
 Distribution of Blood
• Unevenly distributed
• Heart, arteries and
capillaries have 30-
35%
• Venous system has 65-
70%
• Veins are able to
stretch and hold large
quantities of blood,
capacitance vessels
• Serious hemorrhaging
leads to:
– Venodilation
– Decrease to the “not
as important” organs