Blood Vessels and

Circulation
5 Types of Blood Vessels
• Arteries

• Arterioles

• Capillaries

• Venules

• Veins
Arteries and Arterioles
Arteries
• “Arteries Away”

• Elastic Arteries
 Aorta

• Muscular Arteries
 Brachial artery
Arteries

tunica interna (intima)

 simple squamous epithelium
(endothelium)

–basement
membrane
–internal elastic
lamina
Arteries

tunica media
 circular smooth muscle

–elastic fibers
(external elastic
lamina)
Arteries

tunica externa
(adventitia)
 elastic & collagen fibers
 Composition of Layers
• intima - simple squamous epithelium
• basement membrane - connective
tissue
• media - smooth muscle
• adventitia - connective tissue
Elastic Arteries
• largest-diameter arteries (e.g. aorta)
• abundance of elastic fibers in tunica
media
Elastic Arteries
• stretch during ventricular
systole
• recoil on ventricular
diastole, propelling
blood
• aorta also propels blood
into coronary aa.
Muscular Arteries
• medium-sized aa.
• calleddistributing arteries
because they distribute
blood to body (constrict
and dilate to adjust flow)
• more smooth muscle in
tunica media than elastic
aa.
Arterioles
• very small aa.
• deliverblood to
capillaries
• vasoconstrict and
vasodilate to
regulate b.p. and
blood flow to
capillaries
Capillaries
 Capillaries
• microscopic vessels
• form microcirculation
• usually connect arterioles to venules
• found near almost every cell in the body
(absent in epithelium, cartilage, cornea and
lens)
• most concentrated in tissues with high
metabolic rates (muscle, liver, kidneys, brain)
Capillaries
intercellular clefts

lumen
© John Wiley & Son Inc basement membrane
endothelium
(simple squamous epithelium)
• site
of exchange of gases, nutrients, wastes
between blood and interstitial fluid (much
through intercellular clefts)
 Capillaries

• site
of exchange of gases, nutrients, wastes
between blood and interstitial fluid (much
through intercellular clefts)
Blood Flow through Capillaries

metarteriole

precapillary sphincter

• regulatedby contraction of
metarterioles and
precapillary sphincters
Veins and Venules
Venules
• smallveins that drain blood from several
capillaries to vv.
• thin tunica media, very porous
endothelium
• allow phagocytic
WBCs to leave
blood during
inflammation
 Veins
• same three layers as
arteries:
tunica interna

valve
–thinner than in aa.
–thin folds form valves,
prevent backflow
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 Veins

tunica media

– thinner than aa.

– little muscle, few
elastic fibers
– no elastic lamina
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 Veins

tunica externa

– thickest layer
– collagen, elastic fibers
– supports vein wall
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 Muscle Pumps

• skeletal muscle
pump and
respiratory
pump aid
venous return

skeletal muscle pump