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The blood vessels are part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body.

1 Types

• Arteries
  • Aorta (the largest artery, carries blood out of the heart)
• Arterioles
• Capillaries (the smallest blood vessels)
• Venules
• Veins
  • Venae cavae (the 2 largest veins, carry blood into the heart)

2 Glossary

• Vasoconstriction is when blood vessels constrict (become narrower, smaller in cross-sectional area) by contracting the smooth muscle in the vessel walls.
  • A vasoconstrictor is any drug that acts to constrict blood vessels. Many vasoconstrictors act on specific receptors, such as vasopressin receptors or adrenoreceptors.

Vasoconstrictors are used to increase blood pressure or to reduce local blood flow.

• Vasodilation is when blood vessels dilate (become wider) by relaxing the smooth muscle in the vessel walls.
  • VasodilatorA vasodilator is a substance that causes blood vessels in the body to become wider by relaxing the smooth muscle in the vessel wall. This will reduce blood pressure (since there is more room for the blood) and might allow blood to flow around a clot.s are drugs that work to dilate blood vessels.

3 See also

• anatomyAnatomy (from the Greek anatome from ana-temnein to cut up), is the branch of biology that deals with the structure and organization of living things; thus there is animal anatomy ( zootomy) and plant anatomy ( phytonomy). The major branches of anatomy in
• human anatomyHuman anatomy or anthropotomy is a special field within anatomy. It studies organs and organ systems of the human body leaving the study of tissues to histology and cells to cytology. The human body, like the bodies of all animals, is made up of systems,
• cardiovascular system
• vascular resistanceVascular resistance is a term used to define the resistance to flow that must be overcome to push blood through the circulatory system. The resistance offered by the peripheral circulation is known as the systemic vascular resistance SVR , while the resis
• endotheliumThe endothelium is the layer of thin, flat cells that lines the interior surface of blood vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall. Endothelial cells line the entire circulatory system, from the
• endothelium-derived relaxing factorEndothelium-derived relaxing factor EDRF was the tentative name of what was later discovered to be nitric oxide ( N O). It is released by the vascular endothelium in response to a variety of chemical and physical stimuli. It causes the smooth muscle in th
• anastomosisAn anastomosis is an connection between two structures, organs or spaces. It most commonly refers to a connection which is created surgically between two tubular structures, such as a transected blood vessel or loop of intestine. For example, when a segme
• atherosclerosis
• vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels)
• angiogenesis (formation of blood vessels)