Blood Vessels

Question 1

What are the three different types of blood vessel?

Answer 1

Arteries, veins and capillaries

Question 2

Do arteries carry blood away or towards the heart and what are their walls like?

Answer 2

Arteries carry blood away from the heart, their walls consist of several layers of thick, elastic fibres and muscle

Question 3

What is the structure of veins like?

Answer 3

Veins have large diameters and thinner walls than arteries. The blood flowing through them is not under pressure and so veins have valves.

Question 4

Do veins carry oxygenated or deoxygenated blood?

Answer 4

Veins carry deoxygenated blood back to the lungs

Question 5

What is the structure of capillaries like?

Answer 5

Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels and made of a single layer of cells.

Question 6

What do the thin walls of capillaries allow the exchange of?

Answer 6

Water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients and waste between blood and the surrounding tissues

Question 7

Describe the structure of an artery

Answer 7

Their walls consist of several layers of thick, elastic fibres and muscle

Question 8

Describe the structure of a vein

Answer 8

They have large internal diameters

Thinner walls than arteries

Question 9

Give 3 main differences between arteries and veins

Answer 9

arteries = blood is carried away from the heart
veins = blood is carried towards the heart 
arteries = the blood carried is oxygenated 
veins = the blood carried is deoxygenated