Downing- Blood Vessel Histology Flashcards
What are the three layers of a blood vessel?
- intima
- media
- adventitia
What is the innervation for blood vessels?
Postganglionic unmyelinated sympathetic nerve fibers
Do the nerves enter the tunica media?
No
What do the sympathetic nerves do to the blood vessels?
Release NE that causes contraction. Impulses are than propagated via GAP junctions.
What are the largest arteries called and what are examples of them?
Elastic Conducting Arteries
Aorta
Common carotid and subclavian arteries
Common iliac arteries
Pulmonary trunk
What do the elastic arteries look like?
Appear yellowish in fresh specimens d/t abundance of elastin in arterial walls
What is the endothelium of the tunica intima of the elastic arteries composed of?
- Elongated simple squamous endothelial cells 2. oriented in a longitudinal plane
- connect by occluding junctions.
Why does the plasma membrane of the tunica intima of Elastic arteries contain small vesicles?
For transport of water, macromolecules and electrolytes.
What are Weibel-Palade bodies?
WPBs are membrane bound inclusions contained in arterial endothelial cells.
What do Weibel Palade bodies contain?
- vWF (facilitates coagulation of platelets during clot formation)
- P selectin
Why do the endothelial cells of the EA contain blunt processes that reach through the internal elastic lamina?
- To form gap junction w/ nearby smooth muscle cells of the tunica media
* Gap junctions metabolically couple endothelial cells w/ smooth muscle cells
What is the internal elastic lamina of the EA?
thin lamina of elastic fibers that is the boundary between the intima nad the media
What is the tunica media of the EA?
Circularly arranged smooth muscle bands alternated with elastin that contains a fenestrated membrane.
What is the dominant component of hte tunica media of hte EA?
Elastin
Extracellular matrix is produced by what cells in the tunica media?
Smooth muscle cells
How does the adventitia of EA compare to the intima and the media?
It’s relatively thin.
What is the t. adventitia of the EA composed of?
Loose fibroeleastic CT w/ fibroblasts
What does the t. adventitia of the EA contain?
vasa vasorum (blood vessels of the blood vessels) that give rise to capillary beds that nourish the tunica media
What are examples of Muscular arteries?
Pretty much most of the named arteries that we know.
What are the chief characteristics of the muscular arteries?
- Thick tunic media
2. Composed primarily of smooth muscle cells
Is the t. intima of the MA thinner or thicker than the EA?
THINNER
What is prominent in the t. intima of MA?
Internal elastic lamina (has an undulating contour which the endothelium conforms to)
What’s the role of blunt processes in the MA?
Similar to the EA endothelial cells have blunt processes that reach through the internal elastic lamina, forming gap junctions and coupling the metabolic activity of endothelial with smooth muscle cells.
What is the t. media composed of and arranged in MA?
Smooth muscle cells
circumferrentially arranged
How many layers of smooth muscle in smaller muscular arteries?
4-3 layers
How many layers of smooth muscle in large muscular arteries?
up to 40 layers
What encloses each muscle cell of the t. media in the MA?
external basal lamina
What connects adjacent muscle cells in teh t. media of the MA?
gap junctions
What produces the extracellular matrix of the t. media in MA?
Smooth muscle cells
Chondroitin sulfate, elastic fibers, type III colagen
What is present in large muscular arteries and helps define the boundary between the t. media and t. adventitia?
External elastic lamina
What produces the t. adventia of the MA?
fibroblasts produces CT containing elastic fibers, collagen and ground substance.
Unmyelinated nerve endings enters the ______ of the t. adventitia of the MA?
vaso vasorum
What is the typical diameter of arterioles?
< .1 mm
How does the diamter of the wall compare to the diameter of the lumen in an arteriole?
They’re the same
What does the t. intima look like in the arteriole?
- endothelium
- thin layer of CT
- internal elastic lamina
What does the t. media look like in small and larger arterioles?
small- one layer of smooth muscle cells
larger- 2-3 layers smooth muscle cells
Is an external elastic lamina present in an arteriole?
NO
Does an arteriole have a t. adventitia?
NO
What are metarterioles?
Smooth muscle cells that can act as sphincters and control blood flow into the capillary bed by encircling the vessel where a capillary comes from
Are smooth muscle cells in metarterioles continuous?
NO