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A capillary is a small blood vessel, from 5 to 10 micrometres in diameter, and is part of the microcirculation system. Capillaries are microvessels and the smallest blood vessels in the body. 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]
Glomerular mesangial cells structurally support the tufts. Blood enters the capillaries of the glomerulus by a single arteriole called an afferent arteriole and leaves by an efferent arteriole. [3] The capillaries consist of a tube lined by endothelial cells with a central lumen. The gaps between these endothelial cells are called fenestrae.
The third capillary exchange mechanism is transcytosis, also called vesicular transport. [13] By this process, blood substances move across the endothelial cells that compose the capillary structure. Finally, these materials exit by exocytosis, the process by which vesicles go out from a cell to the interstitial space.
The nephron is the minute or microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney.It is composed of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule.The renal corpuscle consists of a tuft of capillaries called a glomerulus and a cup-shaped structure called Bowman's capsule.
Illustration of Bowman's capsule, and glomerular capillaries wrapped by podocytes. A podocyte has a complex structure. Its cell body has extending major or primary processes that form secondary processes as podocyte foot processes or pedicels. [6] The primary processes are held by microtubules and intermediate filaments.
The renal corpuscle is composed of two structures, the glomerulus and the Bowman's capsule. [3] The glomerulus is a small tuft of capillaries containing two cell types. Endothelial cells, which have large fenestrae, are not covered by diaphragms. Mesangial cells are modified smooth muscle
The circulatory system uses the channel of blood vessels to deliver blood to all parts of the body. This is a result of the left and right sides of the heart working together to allow blood to flow continuously to the lungs and other parts of the body. Oxygen-poor blood enters the right side of the heart through two large veins.
The structure of the vasa vasorum varies with the size, function and location of the vessels. Cells need to be within a few cell-widths of a capillary to stay alive. In the largest vessels, the vasa vasorum penetrates the outer (tunica adventitia) layer and middle (tunica media) layer almost to the inner (tunica intima) layer.