Question

Blood Vessels Blood flows through the circulatory system in blood vessels:Arteries are large vessels that carry blood away from the heart to the tissues of the body. Except for the pulmoNry arteries, all arteries carry oxygen-rich blood.Capillaries are the smallest vessels. Their thin walls allow oxygen and nutrients to pass from blood into tissues and wastes to move from tissues into blood.Veins return blood to the heart. Many have valves that prevent backflow. The contractions of the heart produce a wave of fluid pressure in the arteries, known as blood pressure. Without that pressure, blood would stop flowing through the body. The body regulates blood pressure through actions of the brain and the kidneys.

6. As blood flows through the body, it passes through three types of blood vessels. Complete the table by Nming each type and describing its structure and function.
Blood vessels
Structure
Function

Answer 1

Arteries = Transports blood away from the heart. They carry oxygenated blood away from the heart and to the body with the exception of the pulmonary artery that takes deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs to be oxygenated. They have large muscular walls to withstand the pressure of the heart beats and since there is such large pressure, they have smaller lumen compared to the veins as the pressure drives the blood forward.

Veins = Transports blood to the heart. They tend to carry deoxygenated blood to the heart except for the pulmonary vein. Large lumen and small muscular walls with valves. The large lumen is so that more blood can flow through the veins as there's less pressure which is also why there are smaller muscular walls. There are also valves in the veins to prevent the backflow of blood.

Capillaries = Allows gas exchange and waste diffusion into blood. It is also one cell thick to allow diffusion to happen efficiently and the small structure increases the surface area to volume ratio.