Cardiovascular Vocabulary Flashcards
Anastomosis
a cross-connection between blood vessels_
Angiogenesis
the development of a new blood vessel from an existing vessel_
Artery
a blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart that always has a tunica media
Muscular
an artery that contains 5 or more smooth muscle cell layers in the tunica media and typically has both an internal and an external elastic membrane
Elastic
an artery in which the predominant feature of the tunica media is elastic membranes_
Arteriole
an blood vessel that contains < 5 smooth muscle cell layers in its tunica media
Atherosclerosis
a disease of the arteries characterized by the deposition of plaques of fatty material on their inner walls
Capillary
the smallest diameter blood vessel that has several different functional types
Continuous
have tight junctions that restrict flow through the paracellular pathway, so exchange of nutrients and wastes occurs by transcytosis._
Fenestrated
have perforations where the basal and luminal cell membranes join that facilitate the diffusion of nutrients, wastes, and other substances such as hormones.
Discontinuous/sinusoid
have gaps in the endothelial wall and basal laminae. Sinusoids have wider diameters to slow the blood, e.g., in the liver and spleen._
Lacteal
a lymphatic capillary found in the center of intestinal villi_
Lymphatic
a discontinuous capillary that carries lymph rather than blood
Diaphragm
a protein structure that can be opened and closed to regulate the passage of substances through the perforations of a fenestrated capillary
Hypertension
increased blood pressure caused by increased blood volume and long term vascular smooth muscle contraction
