What are blood vessels?
- Blood vessels are a transportation network that ensures the body is receiving what it needs to survive. Blood vessels are requires to transport blood through 3 types of networks whilst making its journey around the body in order to keep the body working efficiently.
Arteries
- Arteries are the largest blood vessels that leave the heart in order for blood to be pumped around the body ensuring it gains the essentials that provide us to live. Arteries have very thick walls and a substantial amount of elastic that expand in order to deal with the high intensity of pumping large amounts of blood to parts of the body via the top of the heart, as they contract and relax continuously. The most common artery in the body is known to be the aorta which is known to be the systemic artery as it sends oxygenated blood around the body to all the major system. Arteries are also connected with arterioles which are known as "smaller arteries" that branch of the artery in order to pass blood fluently around the body, they have smooth muscular walls that contract and relax also called peristalsis movement. Arteries are not required any valves as they carry oxygenated blood out of the heart around the body. However, the pulmonary artery which is situated at the right side of the heart sends deoxygenated blood to the lungs to pick up more oxygen where shortly after the blood returns to the left atria, oxygenated, via the pulmonary vein. Think of it as if the pulmonary artery and pulmonary vein have swapped places.
Capillaries
- Having blood now into the arterioles. The capillaries are known to be tiny blood vessels that link the arteries to the veins. Capillaries are seen to be smaller and one cell thick that are commonly found around the muscles as they need oxygen the most - capillaries are essential to the body and play a major role in the cardiovascular system as they diffuse nutrients (mainly glucose) and oxygen into all of the cells. They are found close to the muscles as when working out the muscles need a greater supply of oxygen in order to endure throughout activities and are able to gain a quicker supply of oxygen rapidly, hence them being so close and thin. Capillaries are also essential for transporting waste products like carbon dioxide to the veins where shortly after will flow back through the heart, out of the pulmonary artery into the lungs where it will be delivered oxygen through respiration in the lungs, and pumped into the left side of the heart then effectively around the body again, travelling through the capillaries.
Veins
- Veins are known to deal with the deoxygenated blood. This happens when the blood has picked up waste products from the cells (after diffusing oxygen and nutrients via the capillaries into the cells) beginning to travel through the capillaries into the "smaller veins" - venules and eventually leading into the larger veins. This will lead the deoxygenated blood through the vena cava, into the right atrium where it will transport into the right ventricle where when it contracts travels up the pulmonary artery into the lungs where it will receive more oxygen to be transported around the body. Veins are less muscular than arteries as they carry blood back to the heart, deoxygenated, resulting low intensity of blood. Veins are the only blood vessel that contains valves throughout the Cardiovascular System as they are in control of keeping the blood flowing smoothly forwards in the cycle. Without veins our body would be unable to transport waste products to the lungs for when we dispose of it through respiration. Our muscles would become easily fatigued and unable to endure if there were no veins as there would be excess waste products causing harm to the body's functioning.
- Blood vessels are a transportation network that ensures the body is receiving what it needs to survive. Blood vessels are requires to transport blood through 3 types of networks whilst making its journey around the body in order to keep the body working efficiently.
Arteries
- Arteries are the largest blood vessels that leave the heart in order for blood to be pumped around the body ensuring it gains the essentials that provide us to live. Arteries have very thick walls and a substantial amount of elastic that expand in order to deal with the high intensity of pumping large amounts of blood to parts of the body via the top of the heart, as they contract and relax continuously. The most common artery in the body is known to be the aorta which is known to be the systemic artery as it sends oxygenated blood around the body to all the major system. Arteries are also connected with arterioles which are known as "smaller arteries" that branch of the artery in order to pass blood fluently around the body, they have smooth muscular walls that contract and relax also called peristalsis movement. Arteries are not required any valves as they carry oxygenated blood out of the heart around the body. However, the pulmonary artery which is situated at the right side of the heart sends deoxygenated blood to the lungs to pick up more oxygen where shortly after the blood returns to the left atria, oxygenated, via the pulmonary vein. Think of it as if the pulmonary artery and pulmonary vein have swapped places.
Capillaries
- Having blood now into the arterioles. The capillaries are known to be tiny blood vessels that link the arteries to the veins. Capillaries are seen to be smaller and one cell thick that are commonly found around the muscles as they need oxygen the most - capillaries are essential to the body and play a major role in the cardiovascular system as they diffuse nutrients (mainly glucose) and oxygen into all of the cells. They are found close to the muscles as when working out the muscles need a greater supply of oxygen in order to endure throughout activities and are able to gain a quicker supply of oxygen rapidly, hence them being so close and thin. Capillaries are also essential for transporting waste products like carbon dioxide to the veins where shortly after will flow back through the heart, out of the pulmonary artery into the lungs where it will be delivered oxygen through respiration in the lungs, and pumped into the left side of the heart then effectively around the body again, travelling through the capillaries.
Veins
- Veins are known to deal with the deoxygenated blood. This happens when the blood has picked up waste products from the cells (after diffusing oxygen and nutrients via the capillaries into the cells) beginning to travel through the capillaries into the "smaller veins" - venules and eventually leading into the larger veins. This will lead the deoxygenated blood through the vena cava, into the right atrium where it will transport into the right ventricle where when it contracts travels up the pulmonary artery into the lungs where it will receive more oxygen to be transported around the body. Veins are less muscular than arteries as they carry blood back to the heart, deoxygenated, resulting low intensity of blood. Veins are the only blood vessel that contains valves throughout the Cardiovascular System as they are in control of keeping the blood flowing smoothly forwards in the cycle. Without veins our body would be unable to transport waste products to the lungs for when we dispose of it through respiration. Our muscles would become easily fatigued and unable to endure if there were no veins as there would be excess waste products causing harm to the body's functioning.