D vascular system and blood pressure

• what is the vascular system made of?

  blood vessels
• what do blood vessels do?

  deliver oxygen and nutrients to body tissues and take away waste products
• what are the 2 types of circulation?

  1. pulmonary
  2. systemic
• pulmonary circulation takes deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs and oxygenated blood back to the heart
• systemic circulation takes oxygenated blood to the body from the heart and then return deoxygenated blood from the body to the heart
• characteristics of veins

  • thin muscle/elastic tissue layer
  • blood at low pressure
  • wider lumen
  • have valves
• characteristics of arteries

  • blood at higher pressure
  • smaller lumen
  • smooth inner layer
  • elastic outer layer to compensate for higher pressure
• characteristics of capillaries

  • one-cell thick
  • thin lumen
  • exchange nutrients through tissue via diffusion
• blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood against the blood vessel wall
• systolic pressure - high pressure in arteries when ventricles are contracting
• diastolic pressure - lower pressure in the arteries when the ventricles are relaxing