Function of blood vessels
Function of blood vessels
The most important types, arteries, and veins, carry blood away from or towards the heart, respectively.
All blood vessels have the same basic structure.
The inner lining is the endothelium and is surrounded by subendothelial connective tissue.
Around this, there is a layer of vascular smooth muscle, which is highly developed in arteries.
Finally, there is a further layer of connective tissue known as the adventitia, which contains nerves that supply the muscular layer, as well as nutrient capillaries in the larger blood vessels.
Blood vessels function to transport blood. In general, arteries and arterioles transport oxygenated blood from the lungs to the body and its organs, and veins and venules transport deoxygenated blood from the body to the lungs. Blood vessels also circulate blood throughout the circulatory system Oxygen (bound to hemoglobin in red blood cells) is the most critical nutrient carried by the blood. In all arteries apart from the pulmonary artery, hemoglobin is highly saturated (95–100%) with oxygen. In all veins apart from the pulmonary vein, the saturation of hemoglobin is about 75%.[citation needed] (The values are reversed in the pulmonary circulation.) In addition to carrying oxygen, blood also carries hormones, waste products, and nutrients for cells of the body.
The most important types, arteries, and veins, carry blood away from or towards the heart, respectively.
All blood vessels have the same basic structure.
The inner lining is the endothelium and is surrounded by subendothelial connective tissue.
Around this, there is a layer of vascular smooth muscle, which is highly developed in arteries.
Finally, there is a further layer of connective tissue known as the adventitia, which contains nerves that supply the muscular layer, as well as nutrient capillaries in the larger blood vessels.
Blood vessels function to transport blood. In general, arteries and arterioles transport oxygenated blood from the lungs to the body and its organs, and veins and venules transport deoxygenated blood from the body to the lungs. Blood vessels also circulate blood throughout the circulatory system Oxygen (bound to hemoglobin in red blood cells) is the most critical nutrient carried by the blood. In all arteries apart from the pulmonary artery, hemoglobin is highly saturated (95–100%) with oxygen. In all veins apart from the pulmonary vein, the saturation of hemoglobin is about 75%.[citation needed] (The values are reversed in the pulmonary circulation.) In addition to carrying oxygen, blood also carries hormones, waste products, and nutrients for cells of the body.
