General Anatomy

Dr. Gamal Taha, Lecturer of Anatomy

End Arteries

Circulatory System

An efficient mode of transport for oxygen, nutrients, and waste products to and from body tissues. Heart is the mechanical pump that propels the blood through the vessels. Heart and blood vessels form a closed-loop system. Blood vessels can pulsate and change shape in accordance with the bodys needs.

Blood Vessels

Systemic circulation

Consists of the blood vessels that extend to and from the body tissues. Consists of the vessels that take the blood to the lungs for gas exchange.

Pulmonary circulation

Three Main Classes of Blood Vessels

Arteries convey blood away from the heart to the body tissues, get smaller as they go away from the heart.

Veins carries blood to the heart and become progressively larger as they merge and get closer it.
And, Capillaries, that are connecting both of them.

Three Main Classes of Blood Vessels

Anastomosis: Site where two or more vessels merge to supply the same body region. In other words, connection between different arteries to maintain the arterial supply if the main artery is occluded.

Arterial anastomoses: alternate route Veins tend to form many more anastomoses than do arteries.

Three Main Classes of Blood Vessels

End Arteries

Arteries that do not form anastomoses Only one route, if an end artery is occluded the tissues supplied by it would suffer infarction E.g.: Renal artery, Splenic artery

Types of End Arteries

Anatomical End Arteries The arteries have no anastomosis at all with neighboring arteries e.g. Central Retinal Artery Functional End Arteries Have small anastomoses, but it is not sufficient to compensate for occlusion of the main artery E.g.: Coronary Arteries

Arteries

In the systemic circulation, carry oxygenated blood to the body tissues.

Pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood to the lungs.

Capillaries

Allow gas and nutrient exchange between the blood and the body tissues to occur rapidly. Smallest blood vessels, connect arterioles to venules.

Capillaries

An adult human has been estimated to have some 60,000 miles (96,560 km) of capillaries with a total surface area of some 800-1000 square meters, an area greater than three tennis courts.

The Three Basic Kinds of Capillaries

Continuous capillaries They are continuous in the sense that the endothelial cells provide an uninterrupted lining

The Three Basic Kinds of Capillaries

Fenestrated capillaries Have pores in the endothelial cells and allow small molecules and limited amounts of protein to diffuse

The Three Basic Kinds of Capillaries

Sinusoids, or discontinuous capillaries

special type of fenestrated capillaries that have larger openings allow red and white blood cells various serum proteins to pass

Veins

Drain capillaries and return the blood to the heart. Walls are relatively thin and the vein lumen is larger.

Systemic veins carry deoxygenated blood to the right atrium of the heart, while pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood to the left atrium of the heart.
Hold about 60% of the bodys blood at rest. Veins function as blood reservoirs.

Portal circulation
Portal venous system occurs when a Capillary Bed pools into another capillary bed through veins, without first going through the heart.

Hepatic Portal System

A venous network that drains the GI tract and shunts the blood to the liver for processing and absorption of transported materials. Blood exits the liver through hepatic veins that merge with the inferior vena cava. Is needed because the GI tract absorbs digested nutrients, and these nutrients must be processed and/or stored in the liver.