Blood Vessels Flashcards
5 main types of blood vessels:
- arteries
- arterioles
- capillaries
- venules
- veins
Arteries:
- carry blood away from heart
- pressure reservoir
- large radius, which leads to little resistance to blood flow
Arterioles:
- deliver blood to capillaries
- known as resistance vessels
- regulate distribution of cardiac output
- produce rapid decrease in pressure
Arterioles create resistance by…
changing the diameter
Large arteries branch off into…
smaller vessels like arterioles
CT for arteries has…
- collagen fibers: provide tensile strength
- elastin fibers: provide elasticity to arterial walls
Arterioles don’t have…
elastic and fibrous tissue
Arterioles are made up of…
smooth muscle
Arterioles are the main contributors to…
total peripheral resistance (TPR)
Capillaries:
- site of nutrient exchange
- has thin and porous walls
- form beds at tissues
Flow of capillaries is controlled by…
- metarteriole
- precapillary sphincters
Continuous capillaries are made of…
plasma membrane of cells w/ intercellular clefts
- most abundant
Continuous capillaries are permeable to…
- h2o
- glucose
- small solutes
Different types of capillaries:
- continuous
- fenestrated
- sinusoids
Fenestrated capillaries:
- have pores (fenestrations)
- more permeable than continuous
Fenestrated capillaries are found in…
- kidneys
- small intestines
- endocrine organ
Sinusoids:
- wider and more winding
- has unusually large fenestrations
- allows movement of large substances
Layers in the blood vessels dictate…
function
Layers of blood vessels:
- endothelium
- smooth muscle
- connective tissue
Function of endothelium:
- thin layer of epi cells supported by basal lamina that are innermost
- provide physical barrier and other vascular functions
Function of smooth muscle:
controls vasodilation and vasoconstriction
Function of CT:
- elastic: allows for blood vessels to stretch
- fibrous: provides blood vessel with tensile strength
Function of venules:
drain blood from capillaries
Function of veins:
- carry blood back to heart
- aided by valves and pumps (skeletal and respiratory)