The blood vessels are part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body. The most important types, arteries and veins, are so termed because they carry blood away from or towards the heart, respectively. Blood vessel - Types. Blood vessels exist in varying calibers: Arteries Aorta (the largest artery, carries blood out of the heart) Branches of the aorta, such as the carotid artery, the subclavian artery, the celiac trunk, the mesenteric arteri ...

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Blood vessels do not actively engage in the transport of the blood (they have no appreciable peristalsis), but arteries - and veins to a degree - can regulate their caliber by contraction of the muscular layer. This determines the blood flow to particular downstream organs, and is determined by the autonomic nervous system. Vasodilation and vasoconstriction are also used antagonistically as a method of thermoregulation in homeotherms. Oxygen (bound to hemoglobin in red blood cells) is the most critical nutrient carried by the blood. I ...

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Blood vessel, Blood vessel - Types, Blood vessel - Anatomy, Blood vessel - Physiology, Blood vessel - Role in disease

Read more here: » Blood vessel: Encyclopedia II - Blood vessel - Physiology

Blood vessels exist in varying calibers: Arteries Aorta (the largest artery, carries blood out of the heart) Branches of the aorta, such as the carotid artery, the subclavian artery, the celiac trunk, the mesenteric arteries, the renal artery and the ileac artery. Arterioles Capillaries (the smallest blood vessels) Venules Veins Large collecting vessels, such as the subclavian vein, the jugular vein, the renal vein and the iliac vein. Venae cavae (the 2 largest veins, carry bl ...

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Blood vessel, Blood vessel - Types, Blood vessel - Anatomy, Blood vessel - Physiology, Blood vessel - Role in disease

Read more here: » Blood vessel: Encyclopedia II - Blood vessel - Types

All blood vessels follow the same histological makeup. The inner lining is the endothelium, followed by subendothelial connective tissue. Then follows a muscular layer of vascular smooth muscle, which is highly developed in arteries. Finally, there is a further layer of connective tissue termed the adventitia, which contains nerves that supply the muscular layer, as well as nutrient capillaries in the larger blood vessel. Capillaries consist of little more than a layer of endot ...

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Blood vessel, Blood vessel - Types, Blood vessel - Anatomy, Blood vessel - Physiology, Blood vessel - Role in disease

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Blood vessels play a role in virtually every medical condition. Cancer, for example, cannot progress if the tumor does not cause angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels) to supply the malignant cells' metabolic demand. Atherosclerosis, the formation of lipid lumps (atheromas) in the blood vessel wall, is the prime cause of cardiovascular disease, the main cause of death in the Western world. Blood vessel permeability is increased in inflammation. Damage, due to trauma or spontaneously, may lead to hemorrhage. In contrast, occlusi ...

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Blood vessel, Blood vessel - Types, Blood vessel - Anatomy, Blood vessel - Physiology, Blood vessel - Role in disease

Read more here: » Blood vessel: Encyclopedia II - Blood vessel - Role in disease