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Blood vessels function to transport blood to an animal's body tissues. In general, arteries and arterioles transport oxygenated blood from the lungs to the body and its organs, and veins and venules transport deoxygenated blood from the body to the lungs. Blood vessels also circulate blood throughout the circulatory system.
In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. [1] [2] It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart and blood vessels (from Greek kardia meaning heart, and Latin vascula meaning vessels).
Heart failure is caused by chronic oxygen deprivation due to reduced blood flow, which weakens the heart over time. Arrhythmias are caused by inadequate blood supply to the heart that interferes with the heart's electric impulse. The coronary arteries can constrict as a response to various stimuli, mostly chemical. This is known as a coronary ...
Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (from Ancient Greek erythros 'red' and kytos 'hollow vessel', with -cyte translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, [1] erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate's principal means of delivering oxygen (O 2) to the body tissues—via ...
Vasodilation plays a major role in immune system function. Wider blood vessels allow more blood containing immune cells and proteins to reach the infection site. Vasodilation occurs as part of the process of inflammation, which is caused by several factors including presence of a pathogen, injury to tissues or blood vessels, and immune ...
Atherosclerosis is characterized by the build-up of plaque inside your blood vessels. It can lead to stenosis, which is a narrowing of your artery walls. Plaque is a fatty substance made up of:
An arteriole is a small-diameter blood vessel in the microcirculation that extends and branches out from an artery and leads to capillaries. [ 1 ] Arterioles have muscular walls (usually only one to two layers of smooth muscle cells ) and are the primary site of vascular resistance .
Veins (/ v eɪ n /) are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart.Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and fetal circulations which carry oxygenated blood to the heart.