Blood flows from arteries to capillaries to veins.Arteries are strong, flexible and resilient. They carry blood away from the heart and bear the highest blood pressure. . They then branch into smaller and smaller vessels called arterioles which link to capillaries.Capillaries act as a bridge between arteries which carry blood from the heart, and veins which carry blood back to the heart. Blood flows from the capillaries into very small veins called venules then into the veins which lead back to the heart.