Blood Vessels And Their Function Flashcards
What are the four types of blood vessel?
Arteries
Artérioles
Capillaries
Veins
What do arteries carry?
Blood away from the heart and into artérioles.
What are artérioles?
These are smaller arteries that control blood flow from arteries to capillaries.
What are capillaries?
These are tiny vessels that link artérioles to veins.
What do veins do?
They carry blood from capillaries back to the heart.
What is the structure of blood vessels?
From the outside in: Tough fibrous outer layer Muscle layer Elastic layer Thin inner lining. (Endothelium) Lumen
What differs between each type of blood vessel?
The proportions of each layer.
What does the tough fibrous outer layer resist?
Pressure changes from both within and outside.
What can the muscle layer do?
It can contract which allows it to control the flow of blood.
What does the elastic layer help to maintain?
It helps to maintain blood pressure by stretching and springing back (recoiling).
Why is the inner lining (endothelium) smooth?
To reduce friction.
Why is the endothelium thin?
To allow diffusion.
What is the lumen?
The central cavity of the blood vessel through which blood flows.
What is the difference between artérioles and arteries?
Artérioles are smaller in diameter and have a relatively larger muscle layer and lumen.
What has the biggest lumen?
Veins
What layers do capillaries have?
Lumen and lining layer.
Is the elastic tissue a muscle?
No
Which is bigger the lining of the artery or the vein?
The vein.
What is the function of a n artery?
To transport blood rapidly under high pressure from the heart to the tissues.
In what four ways are arteries adapted to their function?
They have a thick muscle layer compared to veins.
The elastic layer is relatively thick compared to veins.
The overall thickness of the wall is great.
There are no valves.
How does the thick muscle layer aid the function of arteries?
This means that smaller arteries can be constricted and dilated in order to control the amount of blood passing through them.
Why is it important that the elastic layer of arteries is thick?
This is because the blood pressure is high.
When is the elastic layer stretched?
During systole.
When does the elastic layer spring back?
During diastole
What helps maintain high pressure and smooth pressure surges created by the heart?
The stretching and recoil of the elastic layer of the artery.
What does the great overall thickness of arteries mean?
The blood vessel will not break under pressure.
Are there no valves in all arteries?
No- there are only valves in the arteries near the heart, apart from that there are no valves.
Why are there no valves?
The blood is under constant high pressure due to the heart pumping blood into the arteries which means there is no back flow of blood.
What is the function of artérioles?
They carry blood under lower pressures from the arteries to the capillaries. They also control the flow of blood between the two.
Explain the function of artérioles.
The muscle layer is relatively thicker than arteries.
The elastic layer is relatively thinner than arteries.
Why is it beneficial that the muscle layer in artérioles is thicker than that in arteries?
The contraction of this muscle layer allows constriction of the lumen of the artériole. This restricts blood flow and so controls the movement of blood into the capillaries.
Why is the elastic layer of artérioles relatively thinner than that of arteries?
The blood pressure is lower.
What do veins do?
They transport blood slowly, under low pressure, from the capillaries in tissues to the heart.