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Atherosclerosis is a disease marked by the hardening of arteries. This is caused by an atheroma or plaque in the artery wall and is a build-up of cell debris, that contain lipids, (cholesterol and fatty acids), calcium [12] [13] and a variable amount of fibrous connective tissue.
The muscle fiber cells are arranged in 5 to 7 layers of circular and longitudinal smooth muscle with about 50μ in length and contain well-marked, rod-shaped nuclei, which are often slightly curved. Separating the tunica media from the outer tunica externa in larger arteries is the external elastic membrane (also called the external elastic ...
The structure of the tunica intima depends on the blood vessel type. [3] Elastic arteries – A single layer of endothelial and a supporting layer of elastin-rich collagen. The layer also contains fibroblasts, immune cells and smooth muscle cells. [1] Muscular arteries – Endothelial cells Arterioles – A single layer of endothelial cells
The tunica media is thicker in the arteries rather than the veins. The outer layer is the tunica adventitia and the thickest layer in veins. It is entirely made of connective tissue. It also contains nerves that supply the vessel as well as nutrient capillaries (vasa vasorum) in the larger blood vessels.
A common pathological disorder concerning the tunica externa is scurvy, also known as vitamin C deficiency. Scurvy occurs because vitamin C is essential for the synthesis of collagen, and without it, the faulty collagen cannot maintain the vein walls and rupture, leading to a multitude of problems.
The converse argument is that generally artery walls are thicker and more muscular than veins as the blood passing through is of a higher pressure. This means that it would take longer for any oxygen to diffuse through to the cells in the tunica adventitia and the tunica media, causing them to need a more extensive vasa vasorum.
They are composed of only the tunica intima (the innermost layer of an artery or vein), consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. [2] They are the site of the exchange of many substances from the surrounding interstitial fluid , and they convey blood from the smallest branches of the arteries ( arterioles ) to those of the ...
The arterial system itself arises from aortic arches 3, 4 and 6 (aortic arch 5 completely regresses). The dorsal aortae, present on the dorsal side of the embryo, are initially present on both sides of the embryo. They later fuse to form the basis for the aorta itself. Approximately thirty smaller arteries branch from this at the back and sides.