ARTERIES

Take blood away from heart.
Wall has three layers
1. Inner endothelium or tunica intima
  1. flat cells/ squamous epithelium
  2. smooth, minimising friction with the moving blood
2. tunica media or middle coat
  1. smooth muscle, collagen and elastic fibres
3. tunica externa or outer coat
  1. elastic and collagen fibres
4. Its elasticity and strength are distinctive charecteristics
  1. evens out the flow of blood
  2. reduces the likelihood that they will burst
Largest
1. Aorta
  1. average diameter 2.5 cm
  2. wall thickness 2mm
  3. blood pressure around 120 mm Hg or 16 kPa
arteries further away from the heart have fewer elastic fibres in the tunica media but have more muscle fibres
further branches into arterioles
1. walls have more smooth muscle
2. helps control the volume of blood flowing into a tissue at different times
3. blood pressure is around 85mm Hg or 11.3kPa

Resource summary

	Created by Aarushi Pandit over 8 years ago