The Structure and Function of Blood Vessels Flashcards
Blood circulates FROM the heart through
arteries
Blood circulates BACK TO the heart through
veins
Arteries and Veins are made up of
Connective Tissue, Muscle, Elastic Fibres and Central Lumen
There is a decrease in blood pressure as the blood moves
further AWAY from the heart
The elastic walls of arteries can stretch and recoil to
accommodate the surge of blood after each heart contraction
Arteries have thicker muscular walls and is more elastic to cope with
high blood pressure
To control blood flow, the muscle surrounding arteries can
Contract to cause Vasoconstriction or Relax to cause Vasodilation
Capillaries have thin walls to allow
the exchange of materials (eg oxygen, glucose, CO2)
Veins have valves to
prevent the backflow of blood
The muscular wall of a vein is thinner than
that of an artery
Plasma can pass through capillary walls into the surrounding tissue fluid by
pressure filtration
Tissue fluid does NOT contain
protein(s) (because they are too large to be filtered
Tissue fluid supplies cells with useful substances like
glucose and oxygen
Waste substances such as CO2 can diffuse out of the cells and into
the tissue fluid (to be excreted)
Tissue fluid that doesn’t return to the blood can be
returned as lymph to the circulatory system
