KS4 Biology

Blood Vessels

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 Contents

Blood Vessels

What are blood vessels?

Arteries
Veins

Capillaries

Summary activities

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 Blood vessels and the circulatory system
The circulatory system is
made up of the heart, blood
and blood vessels.

What are blood vessels and

what do they do?

Blood vessels are the

network of tubes that carry
the blood, pumped by the
heart, around the body.

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 What is the total length of blood vessels?
Make a guess at the total length,
in kilometres, of all the blood
vessels in an adult human?

100, 000 kilometres

That’s more than twice the
distance around the Earth
at the equator!
There are a lot of blood vessels
so they must be important.
Are all blood vessels the same?

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 Different types of blood vessels
There are three types of blood vessels, as shown in this
magnified part of the circulatory system.
blood from blood to
the heart the heart

artery vein

Why are there different types of blood vessels?

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 Different types of blood vessels
The different blood vessels have different jobs to do
in carrying blood around the body.
blood from blood to
the heart the heart

artery vein
carries blood carries blood
away from back into
the heart the heart

carries blood
to and from the
body’s cells
Do all blood vessels carry the same type of blood?
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 Contents

Blood Vessels

What are blood vessels?

Arteries
Veins

Capillaries

Summary activities

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 What is an artery?
Arteries are the blood vessels that carry blood away from
the heart.
blood from blood to
the heart the heart

artery
carries blood
away from
the heart

Blood that is pumped from the heart to the body’s cells

along the arteries is oxygen-rich.
Is this oxygen-rich blood under high or low pressure when
it leaves the heart?
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 Cross-section of an artery
The arteries carry blood at high
pressure away from the heart.
Looking at the cross-section of
an artery, why is it suitable for
carrying blood at high pressure?

thick outer wall

thick inner layer

of muscle and
elastic fibres

narrow
central tube

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 Blood flow in arteries – high pressure
Imagine using a hosepipe and
covering half of the open end
with your thumb. What happens
to the pressure of the water?
The water is released under
higher pressure and flows faster.

In the same way, arteries have

a narrow central core and thick
muscular walls.
This means that blood from the
heart is kept at high pressure and
flows quickly to reach every part
of the body, even the little toes!

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 Blood flow in arteries – stretching
With each heartbeat, a surge of blood enters the arteries
and they expand to cope with the increased blood flow.
Which part of an artery allows it to expand?

thick inner layer

of muscle and
elastic fibres

increased
blood flow
The elastic fibres allow the artery to stretch under pressure.
The muscle fibres contract to push the blood along and
keep it flowing.

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 Blood flow in arteries – detecting
There is a simple way of
detecting how an artery
stretches under the
pressure of each heartbeat.
What is it?

You can feel your pulse

because of the stretching
of an artery that passes
between bone and the
surface of the skin.

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 Contents

Blood Vessels

What are blood vessels?

Arteries
Veins

Capillaries

Summary activities

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 What is a vein?
Veins are the blood vessels that carry blood back into
the heart.
blood from blood to
the heart the heart

vein
carries blood
back into
the heart

Blood that travels from the body’s cells to the heart along
the veins is oxygen-poor.
Is this oxygen-poor blood under high or low pressure as
it returns to the heart?
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 Cross-section of a vein

The veins carry blood at low

pressure back into the heart.
Looking at the cross-section of
a vein, why is it suitable for
carrying blood at low pressure?

thin outer wall

thin inner layer

of muscle and
elastic fibres

wide
central tube

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 Comparing cross-sections

Compare the cross-section of a vein and an artery.

Why are they different?

Veins do not need to keep blood flowing quickly at high

pressure and so they have much thinner walls than arteries.

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 Blood flow in veins – preventing backflow
Blood travels back to the heart in veins at low pressure.
If the blood pressure is too low, what, for example,
might happen to the blood in leg veins?

blood
to the
heart possible
backflow
of blood

gravity

If low-pressure blood has to move against gravity, it might

slow down further and even flow in the wrong direction!
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 Blood flow in veins – valves
Veins have valves to prevent backflow.

backflow
vein valve prevented
open
vein valve
blood closed
to the
heart

When blood flows along If blood in a vein does

veins it pushes past flow backwards,
the valves, which can it is trapped by
only open in one direction. closed valves.
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 Blood flow in veins – muscle contraction
Veins have valves to prevent backflow. They also have thin
walls and so need help from nearby muscles to push blood
towards the heart.
How does this work? (Think of a tube of toothpaste!)

blood
to the
heart

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 Blood flow in veins – muscle contraction
Many veins are surrounded by muscles. When you move,
these muscles contract and squeeze the veins.
This pushes blood along the veins back towards the heart.
(Just like squeezing a tube of toothpaste!)

blood
keeps
flowing
to the
heart

blood
to the
heart

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 Contents

Blood Vessels

What are blood vessels?

Arteries
Veins

Capillaries

Summary activities

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 What is a capillary?
Capillaries are the tiny blood vessels that carry a blood
supply to and from the body’s cells.
What blood vessels are linked by capillaries?

artery vein

Capillaries link arteries to veins.

Capillaries are the only blood vessels where substances
can be exchanged between the blood and body cells.

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 Cross-section of a capillary

The capillaries carry blood to and

from the body’s cells.
Looking at the cross-section of
a capillary, why is it suitable for
the exchange of substances
between the blood and body cells?

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 What happens in a capillary?
Capillaries have very thin walls
for the exchange of substances
between the blood and
surrounding body cells.
How does this happen? waste
products
Substances are exchanged useful
by diffusion. substances
Useful substances in the
blood diffuse across the
capillary wall into body cells.
Waste products from the
body cells diffuse across the
capillary wall into the blood.

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 Gas exchange in a capillary bed
A network of capillaries is called a capillary bed.
What gases are exchanged by diffusion in a capillary bed?

carbon
dioxide
oxygen

Oxygen in the blood diffuses across the capillary wall

into body cells for respiration.
Carbon dioxide from the cells diffuses across the
capillary wall into the blood.
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 Contents

Blood Vessels

What are blood vessels?

Arteries
Veins

Capillaries

Summary activities

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 Different blood vessels – activity

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 What do blood vessels do?

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 Which type of blood vessel?

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 Multiple-choice quiz

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