Arteries - circulation, Biology

Assignment Help:

Arteries - Circulation

The arteries deliver blood from the heart. Figure shows the structure of arteries and the different layers of the vessel wall. The thick walls of these blood vessels, except those of the smallest, are supplied by their own capillary network called vasa vasoram. The arteries serve four main functions:

  1. To act as a conduit for blood between heart and capillaries,
  2. To act as a pressure reservoir for forcing blood into small diameter arterioles,
  3. To produce a more or less even flow of blood through the capillaries,
  4. To control distribution of blood to different capillary networks via selective constriction of the terminal branches

 

 

143_Arteries - Circulation.png

Figure: Major structures in peripheral blood circulation in mammals. Blood flows from the arteries through the capillaries into the veins (id is internal diameter).

There is a precise control on arterial blood pressure. The nature of the arterial wall and the volume of blood pumped into the arteries determine the pressure. If any of these are changed, the pressure will also change. Normally, arterial blood pressure varies very little as cardiac output and capillary flow is evenly matched.

The elastic properties of arterial walls vary. Close to the heart the arteries are elastic and dampen the oscillations in pressure and flow generated by the contractions of the heart. As the heart relaxes the pressure in the arteries is maintained by a reduction in vessel volume. If the arteries were rigid tubes then the same pressure fluctuations would be experienced by peripheral vessels as that observed when blood leaves the heart.


Related Discussions:- Arteries - circulation

Obelia, why obelia shows an intermediate grade of organisation

why obelia shows an intermediate grade of organisation

What is the meaning of visuoperceptive disorders, What is the meaning of Vi...

What is the meaning of Visuoperceptive disorders It relates to the way in which brain damage impairs people's ability to adapt to the visual world and the concepts used to trea

Define elongation phase - mechanism of protein synthesis, Define Elongation...

Define Elongation phase - mechanism of protein synthesis? Elongation: RNA polymerase moves along the DNA and sequential synthesizes the RNA chain. There is the repeated cycle o

Automated dna sequencing, Automated DNA sequencing is now common place whic...

Automated DNA sequencing is now common place which is based on the chain termination method but using a fluorescent dye attached to an oligonucleotide primer instead of using radio

What is the tertiary structure of a protein, What is the tertiary structure...

What is the tertiary structure of a protein? What are the main kinds of tertiary structure? The tertiary protein structure is a spatial conformation additional to the secondary

How can the endoskeleton of echinoderm, Q How can the endoskeleton of echin...

Q How can the endoskeleton of echinoderms be characterized in comparison to analogous structures present in vertebrates, arthropods and molluscs? The echinoderm skeleton is int

Treatment and management of diarrhoea, Q. Treatment and Management of Diarr...

Q. Treatment and Management of Diarrhoea? You must have realized by now that diarrhoea should not be neglected and must receive prompt medical care to minimize the frequency of

What are biological troubles, What are the biological troubles that mollusc...

What are the biological troubles that molluscs face due to their soft body? Because molluscs have a soft body they are more fragile. They also have more complexity to support t

Similarities between cardiac, SIMILARITIE S BETWEEN CARDIAC AND SKELETAL M...

SIMILARITIE S BETWEEN CARDIAC AND SKELETAL MUSCLES - Both cardiac and skeletal muscles are made up of elongated fibres which have numerous myofibrils. The myofibrils of

Homeostasis, negative and positive feedback

negative and positive feedback

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd