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The anatomy of arteries can be separated into gross anatomy, at the macroscopic level, and microanatomy, which must be studied with a microscope.The arterial system of the human body is divided into systemic arteries, carrying blood from the heart to the whole body, and pulmonary arteries, carrying deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs.
Most vessels of the microcirculation are lined by flattened cells of the endothelium and many of them are surrounded by contractile cells called pericytes.The endothelium provides a smooth surface for the flow of blood and regulates the movement of water and dissolved materials in the interstitial plasma between the blood and the tissues.
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.
English: Microscopic anatomy of an artery. The outermost layer is known as tunica adventitia, and is composed of connective tissue made up of collagen fibers. Inside this layer is the tunica media, or media, which is made up of smooth muscle cells and elastic tissue (also called connective tissue proper).
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to human anatomy: Human anatomy is the scientific study of the morphology of the adult human. It is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy (also called topographical anatomy, regional anatomy, or anthropotomy) is the study of anatomical ...
Vasa vasorum are more frequent in veins than arteries. [2] Some authorities hypothesize that the vasa vasorum would be more abundant in large veins, as partial oxygen pressure and osmotic pressure is lower in veins. This would lead to more vasa vasorum needed to supply the vessels sufficiently.
The smallest veins are the post-capillary venules. Veins have a similar three-layered structure to arteries. The layers known as tunicae have a concentric arrangement that forms the wall of the vessel. The outer layer, is a thick layer of connective tissue called the tunica externa or adventitia; this layer is absent in the post-capillary ...
The network of blood vessels are the great vessels of the heart including large elastic arteries, and large veins; other arteries, smaller arterioles, capillaries that join with venules (small veins), and other veins. The circulatory system is closed in vertebrates