Blood Vessels

Introduction

Blood vessels are responsible for supplying the petrol that runs all of mammalian physiology. Without the vasculature to carry blood to and from tissues, they will die in the absence of nutrition and waste removal. It is therefore crucial to consider their structural integrity and utilize their availability when considering any disease process requiring on blood-borne healing factors, whether indigenous or introduced.

Anatomy

The vasculature makes up the highway network of the body, carrying nutrients to and waste products from all tissues. From the left side of the heart, the aorta exits to empty into the larger arteries, which become arterioles, and then disseminate into the capillary bed that feeds the periphery. It is in this place of least resistance where most of the crucial work concerning gas exchange and waste removal takes place. Capillaries then filter into the venous system, with venules feeding veins until blood reaches the vena cava, which carries unoxygenated blood to the right side of the heart. This blood travels an identical, though shorter, circulatory route through the lungs, where oxygen is picked up in rich capillary system surrounding alveoli, and then returned to the left heart for circulation around the body.