Chapter 19: Cardiovascular System:

Blood Vessels

• arteries: carry blood away from the heart

• capillaries: contact tissue cells and directly serve
cellular needs by allowing exchange of fluid and
dissolved substances
• veins: carry blood toward the heart

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 Venous system Arterial system
Large veins Heart
Elastic arteries

Muscular arteries

Small veins
Arteriovenous
anastomosis

Arterioles

Postcapillary Terminal arteriole

venule Metarteriole
Capillaries
(exchange vessels)

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 Structure of blood vessel walls
• arteries and veins – have 3 layers or tunics
• tunica intima, tunica media, and tunica externa
• lumen - central blood-containing space inside
• capillaries
• only tunica intima - endothelium with sparse basement
membrane

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 Tunica intima Valve

Tunica media

Tunica externa

Lumen Lumen
Capillary
Artery Vein
network
Basement membrane
Endothelial cells

Capillary

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 Tunica intima
• Endothelium
• Subendothelial layer
• endothelium lines the lumen of
all vessels = simple squamous
epithelium; allows for smooth
blood flow
• in most vessels a subendothelial
connective tissue basement
membrane is present

basement membrane
endothelial cells

Capillary

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 • contains smooth muscle and sheets of elastic
tissue
• sympathetic vasomotor nerve fibers that go to
the smooth muscle allow for vasoconstriction
and vasodilation of vessels
Tunica media
(smooth muscle &
elastic fibers)
external elastic lamina

Capillary

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 • collagen fibers protect and
reinforce the exterior

Tunica externa
(collagen fibers)

Capillary

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 Types of arteries
1. Elastic or conducting arteries -
allow for expansion & recoil
• large lumen compared to wall
• tunica media has more elastic,
less smooth muscle tissue
• include those vessels closest to
the heart
• ex: aorta, brachiocephalic artery

2. Muscular or distributing arteries -

have greater ability to change diameter
• are distal to the elastic arteries
• have thicker walls with more smooth muscle

• ex: axillary, brachial arteries

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 branch & get smaller becoming
arteries -------------------------> arterioles
• very small
• lead to capillaries
• progressively change structure

larger arterioles smallest arterioles

• have 3 tunics • have only an endothelium
• tunica media is with scattered smooth
largely smooth muscle muscle cells

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 smooth muscle of arterioles
allows for:

vasoconstriction & vasodilation

which is used to:

• alter blood flow into capillaries

• regulate blood pressure

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 Capillaries
• microscopic blood vessels
• walls of thin tunica intima = one cell thick
• pericytes – associated cells that help stabilize capillary walls &
control permeability
• size of capillary lumen allows only a single RBC to pass at a time
• functions: exchange of gases, nutrients, wastes, hormones, etc.
• three structural types
1. continuous capillaries
2. fenestrated capillaries
3. sinusoidal capillaries (sinusoids)

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 Continuous capillaries
• most common type of capillary
• abundant in the skin and muscles
• tight junctions connect endothelial cells
• intercellular clefts allow the passage of fluids and small
solutes
• continuous capillaries of the brain have tight junctions that are
complete, forming the blood-brain barrier

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 pericyte

intercellular
cleft
endothelial
cell
basement
membrane
tight junction pinocytotic
vesicles

Continuous capillary
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 Fenestrated capillaries

• some endothelial cells contain membrane covered pores called

fenestrations
• are more permeable than continuous capillaries
• function in absorption or filtrate formation
• found in small intestines, endocrine glands, and kidneys

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 pinocytotic
vesicles

fenestrations
(pores)

intercellular
cleft
basement membrane
tight junction endothelial
cell

Fenestrated capillary

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 Sinusoidal capillaries

• fewer tight junctions, larger intercellular clefts, large lumens

• usually fenestrated
• incomplete basement membranes
• allow large molecules and blood cells to move between the
blood and surrounding tissues
• found in the liver, bone marrow, spleen

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 endothelial
cell

large
intercellular
cleft
tight junction
incomplete
basement
membrane

Sinusoidal capillary

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 Capillary beds

capillary bed
typical capillary beds are fed by a terminal arteriole and drain into a
postcapillary venule

terminal postcapillary venule

arteriole
flow into the capillary bed is controlled by:

1) local chemicals and

2) by vasomotor nerves that control vasoconstriction of arterioles

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 With capillaries associated with serous membranes of the intestines (mesenteries) there also are precapillary sphincters that can constrict to control
blood flow

sphincters
relaxed
precapillary sphincters
(circular smooth muscle structures that contract and relax)

sphincters
contracted

precapillary sphincters are regulated by local chemicals &

vasomotor nerves

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 Venules

• postcapillary venules – have only

endothelium
• very porous; allow fluids and
WBCs into tissues
• larger venules have one or two
layers of smooth muscle cells
• these then flow into larger veins

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 Veins (vs arteries)
• have thinner walls
Valve
• have larger lumens
• carry blood under lower blood
pressure
• have thin tunica media, thicker
tunica externa
• have valves – prevent
backflow of blood

Lumen Lumen
Artery Vein

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 veins are called capacitance vessels (blood reservoirs);
contain up to 65% of the blood supply at rest
Pulmonary blood
vessels 12%
Systemic arteries
and arterioles 15% Heart 8%

Capillaries 5%

Systemic veins
and venules 60%

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 Vascular anastomoses

• interconnections between blood vessels

• arterial anastomoses provide alternate pathways (collateral
channels) to a given body region
• common at joints, in abdominal organs, brain, and heart
• venous anastomoses also are very common

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