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Chapter 12 Section 2
Arteries
When blood leaves the heart,
it travels through arteries
Every organ receives blood
from arteries that branch
off of the aorta
The first branches off the
aorta are the coronary
arteries, which carry blood
to the heart itself
Artery Structure
Walls of the artery are very thick, consisting of
3 layers
Innermost layer of the artery is smooth, made
up of epithelial tissue
Smooth surface allows blood to flow freely
Middle layer of the artery consists mostly of
muscle
Outer layer of the artery is made of flexible
connective tissue
Artery structure gives arteries strength and
flexibility
Pulse
The pulse is caused by the alternating
expansion and relaxation of the artery wall
When the heart’s ventricles contract, they
send a spurt of blood out through all the
arteries in the body
This spurt travels through the arteries and
pushes the artery walls to expand
Once the spurt passes, the artery walls relax
and narrow again
Regulating Blood Flow
Muscles in the middle wall of an artery are
involuntary muscles which contract
When these arteries contract, the opening
narrows in the artery
When the arteries relax, the opening becomes
large
These muscles control the amount of blood
sent to different organs
More blood is sent to organs that are needed
immediately
Capillaries
Blood flows from the smallest arteries into the tiny capillaries
Materials are exchanged between the blood and the body’s
cells in the capillaries
Capillary walls are only one cell thick, allowing materials to
pass easily through them
Oxygen and glucose pass through the capillaries
Cellular waste products travel in the opposite direction; from
cells, through the capillary walls, into the blood
Materials are exchanged between the blood and the cells by
diffusion
Diffusion- process by which molecules move from an area in
which they are highly concentrated to an area in which they
are less concentrated
Veins
Blood moves from the capillaries into the veins
Veins carry blood back to the heart
Veins have 3 layers, with a muscular middle layer
Veins are thinner than arteries
Many veins are located near skeletal muscles;
muscle contractions help to push blood through
the veins
Larger veins have valves to prevent blood from
flowing backward
Breathing movements exert a squeezing pressure
against veins in the chest to push blood toward
the heart
Blood Pressure
What Causes BP? Measuring BP