BLOOD

VESSELS
 Blood vessels
 Blood is transported around the body via blood vessels
 All the blood vessels play important roles in the functioning of the body
 They maintain blood pressure
 Deliver oxygen and nutrients to organs and cells
 And transport waste products away from them
 Arteries
 Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart
 The blood in arteries is usually oxygenated as its being delivered to cells and
organs except for the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood to the
lungs
 blood is carried under high pressure
 They have small lumens
 Thick walls
 No valves
 veins
 Veins are blood vessels carry blood from the organs back to the heart
 They usually carry deoxygenated blood
 The pressure here is low as the blood has not been pumped from the heart so veins
need valves to prevent the blood from flowing back wards due to the low pressure
Large lumen
Contain valves
Thin walls
 Capillaries
• Capillaries have thin permeable walls that
are one cell thick so that substances can
diffuse in and out of them, it
also reduces the diffusion distance for
oxygen and carbon dioxide between the
blood and the tissues and blood.
• Capillaries have a lumen that is
very narrow in diameter.
• The cells of the wall have small pores
that allow blood plasma to leak out and
form tissue fluid in cells.
• A large number of capillaries branch
between cells.