chapter 19 Flashcards
Blood vessels:
delivery system of dynamic structures that begins and ends at heart
Work with lymphatic system to circulate fluids
Arteries:
carry blood away from heart; oxygenated except for pulmonary circulation and umbilical vessels of fetus
Capillaries has direct contact with
direct contact with tissue cells; directly serve cellular needs
Veins:
carry blood toward heart; deoxygenated except for pulmonary circulation and umbilical vessels of fetus
order of blood flow through blood vessels
Largest arteries → smaller arteries → arterioles → capillaries → venules → smaller veins → largest veins
All vessels consist of a
Walls of
Capillaries
All vessels consist of a a lumen, central blood-containing space, surrounded by a wall
all vessels, except capillaries, have three layers, or tunics:
Tunica intima
Tunica media
Tunica externa
Capillaries
Endothelium with sparse basal lamina
Tunica intima
- Innermost layer that is in “intimate” contact with blood
- Endothelium: simple squamous epithelium that lines lumen of all vessels
- -Continuous with endocardium
- -Slick surface reduces friction
- Subendothelial layer: connective tissue basement membrane
- -Found only in vessels larger than 1mm
Tunica media
- Middle layer composed mostly of smooth muscle and sheets of elastin
- Sympathetic vasomotor nerve fibers innervate this layer, controlling:
- -Vasoconstriction: decreased lumen diameter
- -Vasodilation: increased lumen diameter
- Bulkiest layer responsible for maintaining blood flow and blood pressure
Tunica externa
-Outermost layer of wall
-Also called tunica adventitia
-Composed mostly of loose collagen fibers that protect and reinforce wall and anchor it to surrounding structures
-Infiltrated with nerve fibers, lymphatic vessels
–Large veins also contain elastic fibers in this layer
-Vasa vasorum: system of tiny blood vessels found in larger vessels
Function to nourish outermost external layer
Elastic Arteries
- Elastic arteries: thick-walled with large, low-resistance lumen
- -Aorta and its major branches: also called conducting arteries because they conduct blood from heart to medium sized vessels
- Elastin found in all three tunics, mostly tunica media
- Contain substantial smooth muscle, but inactive in vasoconstriction
Elastic arteries give rise to
called distribution arteries because
account for most
muscular arteries
- Also called distributing arteries because they deliver blood to body organs
- -Diameters range from pinky-finger size to pencil-lead size
- Account for most of named arteries
- Have thickest tunica media with more smooth muscle, but less elastic tissue
- -Tunica media sandwiched between elastic membranes
- Active in vasoconstriction
Arterioles
smallest of all arteries
- Larger arterioles contain all three tunics
- Smaller arterioles are mostly single layer of smooth muscle surrounding endothelial cells
- Control flow into capillary beds via vasodilation and vasoconstriction of smooth muscle
- Also called resistance arteries because changing diameters change resistance to blood flow
- Lead to capillary beds
Capillaries
Supply
Functions:
All capillary endothelial cells are joined by
- Microscopic vessels; diameters so small only single RBC can pass through at a time
- Walls just thin tunica intima; in smallest vessels, one cell forms entire circumference
Supply almost every cell, except for cartilage, epithelia, cornea, and lens of eye
-exchange of gases, nutrients, wastes, hormones, etc., between blood and interstitial fluid
All capillary endothelial cells are joined by tight junctions with gaps called intercellular clefts
Allow passage of fluids and small solutes
Pericytes:
spider-shaped stem cells help stabilize capillary walls, control permeability, and play a role in vessel repair
Capillary Types
continuous, fenestrated, sinusoidal
Continuous capillaries
Abundant in skin, muscles, lungs, and CNS
Continuous capillaries of brain are unique
Form blood brain barrier, totally enclosed with tight junctions and no intercellular clefts
-least permeable and most common, skin muscles
Fenestrated capillaries
Found in areas involved in active filtration (kidneys), absorption (intestines), or endocrine hormone secretion
Endothelial cells contain Swiss cheese–like pores called fenestrations
Allow for increased permeability
Fenestrations usually covered with thin glycoprotein diaphragm
-large fenestrations (pores) increase permeability occurs in special locations kidney, small intestine.
Sinusoidal capillaries
Fewer tight junctions; usually fenestrated with larger intercellular clefts; incomplete basement membranes
Usually have larger lumens
Found only in the liver, bone marrow, spleen, and adrenal medulla
Blood flow is sluggish—allows time for modification of large molecules and blood cells that pass between blood and tissue
Contain macrophages in lining to capture and destroy foreign invaders
most permeate occurs in special location liver, bone marrow spleen
Capillary bed
interwoven network of capillaries between arterioles and venules
Microcirculation:
flow of blood through bed from arteriole to venule
Terminal arteriole
branch off arteriole that further branches into 10 to 20 capillaries (exchange vessels) that form capillary bed
Exchange of gases, nutrients and wastes from surrounding tissue takes place in capillaries
after capillary beds Capillaries then drain into
Flow through bed controlled by
Arteriole and terminal arteriole dilated when
constricted to
postcapillary venule
Flow through bed controlled by diameter of terminal arteriole and upstream arterioles
Local chemical conditions and arteriolar vasomotor nerve fibers regulate amount of blood entering capillary bed
–Arteriole and terminal arteriole dilated when blood needed; constricted to shunt blood away from bed when not needed
Capillaries found in serous membranes of intestinal mesenteries have two additional features that form a special arrangement of capillaries:
- Vascular shunt: channel that directly connects arteriole with venule (bypasses true capillaries)
- consists of metarteriole and thoroughfare channel
- Precapillary sphincter: cuff of smooth muscle surrounding each true capillary that branches off metarteriole; acts as valve regulating blood flow into capillary bed
- Controlled by local chemical conditions (not innervated)
Veins formation begins when
capillary beds unite in postcapillary venules and merge into larger and larger veins (venules)
Venules
Capillaries unite to form postcapillary venules
- -Consist of endothelium and a few pericytes
- -Very porous; allow fluids and WBCs into tissues
- Larger venules have one or two layers of smooth muscle cells
Formed when venules converge
- Have all tunics, but thinner walls with large lumens compared with corresponding arteries
- Tunica media is thin, but tunica externa is thick
- -Contain collagen fibers and elastic networks
- Large lumen and thin walls make veins good storage vessels
- –Called capacitance vessels (blood reservoirs) because they contain up to 65% of blood supply
Veins have ____ pressure
Other adaptations
Venous valves
Venous sinuses
Low Pressure
Blood pressure lower than in arteries, so adaptations ensure return of blood to heart
–Large-diameter lumens offer little resistance
Venous valves
- -Prevent backflow of blood
- -Most abundant in veins of limbs
Venous sinuses
- -Flattened veins with extremely thin walls
- -Composed only of endothelium
- -Examples: coronary sinus of the heart and dural sinuses of the brain
Varicose veins
-dilated and painful veins due to incompetent (leaky) valves
- Factors that contribute include heredity and conditions that hinder venous return
- Example: prolonged standing in one position, obesity, or pregnancy; blood pools in lower limbs, weakening valves; affects more than 15% of adults
-Elevated venous pressure can cause varicose veins
Example: straining to deliver a baby or have a bowel movement raises intra-abdominal pressure, resulting in varicosities in anal veins called hemorrhoids
Vascular anastomoses
: interconnections of blood vessels
Arterial anastomoses
provide alternate pathways (collateral channels) to ensure continuous flow, even if one artery is blocked
–Common in joints, abdominal organs, brain, and heart; none in retina, kidneys, spleen
Arteriovenous anastomoses
shunts in capillaries; example: metarteriole–thoroughfare channel
Venous anastomoses
: so abundant that obstructed veins rarely block blood flow
Blood flow:
Measured in
Overall is relatively
- volume of blood flowing through vessel, organ, or entire circulation in given period
- –Measured in ml/min, it is equivalent to cardiac output (CO) for entire vascular system
- -Overall is relatively constant when at rest, but at any given moment, varies at individual organ level, based on needs
Blood pressure (BP):
force per unit area exerted on wall of blood vessel by blood
- Expressed in mm Hg
- Measured as systemic arterial BP in large arteries near heart
- Pressure gradient provides driving force that keeps blood moving from higher- to lower-pressure areas
Resistance (peripheral resistance
Three important sources of resistance
-opposition to flow
Measurement of amount of friction blood encounters with vessel walls, generally in peripheral (systemic) circulation
Three important sources of resistance
Blood viscosity
Total blood vessel length
Blood vessel diameter
Blood viscosity
- The greater the viscosity, the
- Increased viscosity equals
- The thickness or “stickiness” of blood due to formed elements and plasma proteins
- -The greater the viscosity, the less easily molecules are able to slide past each other
- Increased viscosity equals increased resistance
Total blood vessel length
The longer the vessel, the
The longer the vessel, the greater the resistance encountered