Capillaries

• Capillaries


  • Smallest of the three blood vessels
  • High/low/waste exchange
  • One cell thick walls
  • Permeable
  • Wide
• Role of capillaries


  Exchange nutrients and waste products with the tissues
• Capillary walls are permeable, meaning substances are able to move through them
• Capillary walls are only one cell thick which means a short distance for diffusion
• Capillaries carry blood at a low pressure and have a lower rate of flow than arteries