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Why Curvy Blood Vessels Are More Efficient

We may imagine ourselves having essentially solid bodies, but the vascular system that carries oxygen throughout our bodies, makes us less like a mountain of muscle and more like a walking river of fluid. That’s why damage to our veins and arteries can be so devastating, and why cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death for humans worldwide. Much of the problem stems from the build-up over time of hardening agents in the walls of arteries. Healthy arterial walls require a constant supply of oxygen––artery walls receiving less oxygen are more likely to harden. Fortunately, our arteries have surprising and subtle adaptations to help us remain healthy throughout our lifetimes. As our arteries…

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 How Old Are Your Arteries?

Study finds 80 year olds in central Bolivian forager-farming population have the same arterial age as Americans in their mid-50s

Articles of Interest

A History of the Arteries and Veins

"Throughout the body the animal arteries are mingled with veins and veins with arteries, and both veins and arteries are mingled with nerves and the nerves with these...And of course the usefulness of such a complete interweaving is very evident, if, that is to say, it is a useful thing for all parts of the animal to be nourished." -- Galen, 2nd century A.D.

Arteries from distinct regions of the body have unique immune functions

Human arteries play distinct roles in the immune system depending on their anatomical location, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered.

Arteries grown in test tube

For the first time, human arteries have been grown in a test tube. The achievement opens the way for a new kind of surgery, with patients "growing" their own blood vessels before a heart bypass. Adults do not grow new blood vessels, which is why heart disease becomes such a threat later in life.

Artery

An artery is a crucial type of blood vessel that transports oxygen-rich blood from the heart to various parts of the body, playing a vital role in the circulatory system of humans and many other animals. These flexible, muscular tubes are designed to withstand the high pressure of blood flow while remaining adaptable to the body’s movements. Arteries vary in size and structure, with the largest being the aorta, which branches into smaller arteries and ultimately into capillaries that deliver blood to individual cells. The arterial walls consist of three layers: an outer supportive layer, a middle muscular layer for pressure management, and an innermost layer that allows for smooth blood passage.

Artery Structure, Function, and Disease

There are two main types of arteries: pulmonary arteries and systemic arteries. Pulmonary arteries carry blood from the heart to the lungs where the blood picks up oxygen. The oxygen-rich blood is then returned to the heart via the pulmonary veins. Systemic arteries deliver blood to the rest of the body. The aorta is the main systemic artery and the largest artery of the body. It originates from the heart and branches out into smaller arteries which supply blood to the head region (brachiocephalic artery), the heart itself (coronary arteries), and the lower regions of the body.

Blood Vessels: The 60,000 Mile Network Inside Us

Although some blood vessels are relatively small, they form a huge network. If all the vessels belonging to a single person were laid out in a line, they would actually span 60,000 miles in length. That’s long enough to circle the circumference of the globe more than twice.

Can we reduce plaque buildup in arteries?

Cholesterol is often vilified as the bad guy, but we need this waxy, fatty substance to make vitamin D, hormones, bile that aids digestion, and the coverings of our cells. The liver produces 75% of the body's cholesterol, but all cells have the ability to make it. When cells need more cholesterol, the liver sends it via the bloodstream in packages made of cholesterol on the inside and protein on the outside. These cholesterol-laden particles are known as low-density lipoprotein, or LDL. Too much LDL in the blood can cause cholesterol to lodge in the artery walls and form plaques. That's why LDL is known as "bad" cholesterol. Whereas LDL particles deposit cholesterol into plaques of atherosclerosis, some high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles help remove cholesterol from plaques. That's why it's often referred to as "good" cholesterol.

Major system arteries of the body

The major systemic arteries of the body all stem from the aorta or ramify from the aorta’s main branches. Topographically, the aorta is divided into the ascending aorta, aortic arch, descending thoracic aorta, and descending abdominal aorta. These parts of the aorta provide the vessels that supply every region of the body: head and neck, brain, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, upper limbs, and lower limbs.

New clues on how the heart makes arteries

A team in the labs of Holger Gerhardt and Norbert Hübner at the Max Delbrück Center has elucidated how new arteries form, potentially helping to improve therapies aimed at regenerating heart muscle after a heart attack or stroke.

The Significant Role of Arteries in the Human Circulatory System

Peripheral Arteries are one of the most essential components of the human circulatory system. These dynamic blood arteries transmit blood with high levels of oxygen from the heart to other regions of the body. Arteries are muscular blood vessels that play an important role in maintaining appropriate blood flow during severe stress. Structurally, arteries consist of three primary layers, each contributing to their functionality and durability.

Tiny Robots Can Clear Clogged Arteries

Engineers at Drexel University are developing micro-swimmers that loosen arterial plaque and release drugs into the bloodstream to prevent future buildup

Your Vascular System: The Unsung Hero of Human Longevity

When we think about longevity, we tend to focus on the major organs: heart, brain, kidneys, etc. It’s easy to forget that your vascular system—an astonishing 60 000 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries—lies at the center of it all. By constantly moving blood around the body, this brilliant system carries out 3 essential functions for every organ and tissue in your body:

Resources

Physiopedia

Arteries make up a major part of the circulatory system, with the veins and heart being the other main components (all the blood vessels’ combined length is close to 93300 kilometers). Arteries are composed of smooth muscle allowing constriction and dilation through the parasympathetic nervous system. Arteries are deep under the skin. They do not have valves to prevent blood from flowing backwards. Instead, every time the heart beats, the arteries stretch out so the blood has room to go through. Once the walls have completely stretched out, the muscles in the arteries make them shrink back to their normal size. This pushes the blood through.

Pressbooks User Guide

Arteries are high-pressure blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to all other tissues and organs.

StatPearls

Arteries make up a major part of the circulatory system, with the veins and heart being the other main components. Arteries make up tubelike structures responsible for transporting fluid (i.e., blood for the circulatory system and lymph for the lymphatic system) to and from every organ in the body. Mainly, arteries manage the transportation of oxygen, nutrients, and hormones through our bodies. Arteries can dispense fresh oxygen to the body after it gets loaded onto the Fe 2+ found in the center of hemoglobin.