Anatomy of the CVS 2 Flashcards
What makes up the endocardium and epicardium?
Simple Squamous Epithelium + Basement Membrane + Connective Tissue
The heart is essentially a twisted blood vessel. What are the comparable layers between the heart wall and vessel’s walls?
Endocardium - Tunica Intima
Myocardium - Tunica Media
Epicardium - Tunica Adventitia
The epicardium is slightly different to the tunica adventitia, what is the difference?
The tunica adventitia lacks epithelium and a basement membrane.
Whats the difference between the myocardium and tunica media?
Myocardium = Cardiac Muscle
Tunica Media = Smooth Muscle & Elastic Tissue
What are the visible differences between arteries and the accompanying vein (histologically)?
Diameter: Vein > Artery
Thickness of Wall: Artery > Vein
Thickness of Tunica Media: Artery > Vein
Thickness of Tunica Adventitia: Vein > Artery
Which level of vessel have the greatest individual diameter and total cross-sectional area?
Arteries/Veins have the biggest individual diameter
Capillaries have the largest total cross-sectional area
Look at histology images in lecture of arteries etc.
Remember Tunica Intima is fucking tiny in an artery and Tunica Media is pretty Phat.
Name 3 types of arteries + their function and examples
Elastic - Large Conducting - Aorta, Common Carotid, Pulmonary Trunk
Muscular - Distributing to regions - Coronary, Radial & Femoral
Arterioles - Terminal branches supplying capillary bed.
The aorta is an elastic artery, during which stage of the cardiac cycle is it stretched?
During Systole
How do elastic arteries maintain the pressure during dystole?
The arteries recoil in order to maintain pressure even when the heart relaxes.
What allows the elastic arteries to recoil and stretch?
Extensive amounts of elastic fibres in the Tunica Media arranged into layers or laminae.
How are elastic fibres produced?
They’re secreted by smooth muscle
How do you differentiate between veins and arteries histologically?
Generally:
Arteries are smaller in diameter and have a thicker wall
Veins have a thicker Adventitia but a thinner Media
How do you tell between an elastic and muscular artery?
A muscular artery only has elastic fibres in 2 laminae, one at each edge of the T. Media.
An elastic artery has a T. Media full of dark blue elastic fibres
What do we call the two elastic laminae in a muscular artery?
Just under the epithelium (T. Intima) is the Internal Elastic Lamina (IEL)
Between the T. Media & T. Adventitia is the External/Outer Elastic Lamina (OEL)
Whats differnt about an arteriole to larger arteries histlogically?
Arterioles lack a Tunica Adventitia
The T. Media is only a couple layers of muscle thick
There is no elastic Laminae
What are the functions of arterioles?
Controlling Blood Pressure
Controlling blood flow to capillary beds
What nervous system innervates the arterioles?
Sympathetic Nervous System
What layers are present in a capillary wall?
Just the Tunica Intima. So it can exchange nutrients and gases easily