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
Tunica media
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 give rise to
called distribution arteries because
account for most
muscular arteries
Arterioles
smallest of all arteries
Capillaries
Supply
Functions:
All capillary endothelial cells are joined by
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:
Veins formation begins when
capillary beds unite in postcapillary venules and merge into larger and larger veins (venules)