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REVIEW OF THE NORMAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HEART AND THE CARDIO

VASCULAR SYSTEM
ANATOMIC FEATURES OF THE SYSTEM
BLOOD TRANSPORT
CARDIAC OUTPUT
PRELOAD
AFTERLOAD

ANATOMIC FEATURES OF THE SYSTEM

**Blood vessel types

Blood Vessels: Arteries, Capillaries & More

In this lesson, you will take a trip around the circulatory system and encounter the various blood
vessels, including arteries, veins, and capillaries. Come along as we follow the path to every cell of
your body.

Blood Vessels
Blood flows through blood vessels, which form the closed system called the circulatory system. Like
a system of roads, the circulatory system has its highways, back roads, and alleyways, which we call
arteries, veins, and capillaries. In this lesson, we will learn about blood vessels and how they
transport blood throughout the body.

Arteries and Arterioles

Each time your heart beats, blood is forced into large arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry
blood away from the heart to other tissues. An easy way to jog your memory when thinking about
arteries is to remember that arteries carry blood away from the heart. Because arteries are the first
vessels that the heart pumps blood through, they experience the highest blood pressure, so they

have thick elastic walls to withstand the high pressures. These large arteries expand when the
pressure of the blood rises and then recoil when the heart relaxes between beats to provide a
smooth flow of blood through your body.
From the large arteries, blood starts its one-way journey around the body, moving into smaller and
smaller arteries and then into arterioles. Small arteries, such as arterioles, are less elastic and have
more smooth muscle than the larger arteries. These smaller, muscular arteries do not expand as
much when blood enters them and therefore provide the greatest resistance to blood flow through
the arterial system, which helps regulate your blood pressure.
The miles of arteries and arterioles in your body are simply transportation vessels and can be
thought of as the highways and back roads of your circulatory system.

Capillaries
Only the microscopic capillaries serve as the location for the exchange of gases and nutrients
between blood and tissue cells. The capillary walls are very thin and composed of a single layer
of endothelial cells, which are very thin flattened cells that line the inner walls of all of the blood
vessels. Capillaries are the alleyways that extend and branch into every tissue of your body, ensuring
that every cell has a blood supply. It is here, in the capillary beds, that your cells pick up oxygen and
nutrients and drop off carbon dioxide and wastes.

**Microscopic capillaries extend into all body tissues

Veins and Venules

The blood is now ready for its return trip to the heart through more transportation vessels. After
leaving the capillary beds, blood starts its trip back to the heart by first entering venules, which are
groups of capillaries that unite to become small vessels that drain the capillary beds. These small
vessels in turn empty into larger vessels called veins. Veins are blood vessels that carry blood

toward the heart from various tissues. Veins are far from the initial pressure of the heartbeat and
therefore under low pressure. Their walls are thinner than those of the corresponding arteries, and
their inner diameter tends to be larger.
Because blood pressure is usually too low to force the blood back to the heart, veins require a little
help. This help comes from one-way valves inside veins that prevent backflow. These valves might
not seem too important, but if they were not there, your blood would not be able to counter the
effects of gravity and would pool up in your legs every time you stood up. This would drop your blood
pressure to dangerously low levels.

ANATOMY OF THE HEART

How Blood Flows Through the Heart