ARTERIES, VEINS &

CAPILLARIES

Differences
Structures
Functions

-Daphne
 DIFFERENCES

• Arteries carry blood away

from your heart.
• Veins carry blood back
toward your heart.
• Capillaries, the smallest
blood vessels, connect
arteries and veins.
 STRUCTURES
-ARTERIES

• Elastic arteries are those nearest the heart (aorta and pulmonary arteries) that
contain much more elastic tissue in the tunica media than muscular arteries.
• This feature of the elastic arteries allows them to maintain a relatively constant
pressure gradient despite the constant pumping action of the heart.
VEINS
• The deep veins play a
significant role in
propelling blood toward
the heart.
• The one-way valves in
deep veins prevent blood
from flowing backward,
and the muscles
surrounding the deep veins
compress them, helping
force the blood toward the
heart
CAPILLARIES
 FUNCTIONS OF ARTERIES

The body contains three main types of arteries:

• Elastic: These arteries contain more elastic than muscular tissue. The increased flexibility
helps them accommodate surges of blood. Elastic arteries, including the pulmonary artery
and aorta, come out of the heart.
• Muscular: These arteries contain less elastin and more smooth muscle fiber. The elastic
arteries feed into muscular arteries, and the smooth muscle fibers allow them to expand and
contract to control blood flow. Examples of these arteries are the coronary and femoral
arteries.
• Arterioles: Arteries branch out and become smaller vessels called arterioles, which help
distribute blood through networks of capillaries, which are microscopic.
 FUNCTIONS OF VEINS

Types of veins Venules: Veins begin as tiny

vessels called venules and
• Pulmonary veins. The pulmonary circuit carries get gradually larger as they
deoxygenated blood from your heart to your near your heart.
lungs. Once your lungs oxygenate the blood, the Veins: Unlike arteries, veins
pulmonary circuit brings it back to your heart. don’t have to carry highly
pressurized blood. Thin, less
• Systemic veins. The systemic circuit carries elastic walls help them
deoxygenated blood from the rest of the body handle high volumes and low
back to your heart, where it then enters the pressure. About 75% of your
pulmonary circuit for oxygen. Most veins are blood is in your veins.
systemic veins.
 FUNCTIONS OF CAPILLARIES
• These are the rarest and
“leakiest” type of capillary.
Sinusoid capillaries allow for
the exchange of large
molecules, even cells. They’re
able to do this because they
have many larger gaps in their
capillary wall, in addition to
pores and small gaps. The
surrounding basement
membrane is also incomplete
with openings in many places.
These types of capillaries are
found in certain tissues,
including those of your liver,
spleen, and bone marrow.
• Fenestrated capillaries are “leakier” than continuous • Continuous are the most common types of capillaries. They
capillaries. They contain small pores, in addition to small contain small gaps in between their endothelial cells that
gaps between cells, in their walls that allow for the exchange allow for things like gases, water, sugar (glucose), and some
of larger molecules. This type of capillary is found in areas hormones to pass through. They are found in the brain.
that require a lot of exchange between your blood and
tissues.
THANK YOU!