Circulatory System 2 - Blood Vessels

This lesson covers:

1The structure and function of arteries

2The structure and function of capillaries

3The structure and function of veins

4How to calculate the rate of blood flow

Illustration of a human heart showing arteries and veins.

Arteries carry blood ___________ the heart.

away from

towards

0

/

1

nerves / arteries / capillaries / veins


carry blood through the body tissues, allowing oxygen, nutrients, and waste products, to be exchanged between tissues and the blood.

Capillaries

0

/

1

Veins carry blood ___________ the heart.

towards

away from

0

/

1

Diagram showing the structure of an artery with a thick wall and narrow lumen.

Structure and function of arteries 


high / low / elastic / plastic / muscle / nerve / narrow / wide


  1. Arteries are large and carry blood at a very pressure.
  2. Artery walls have a thick middle layer, containing both muscle and tissue.
  3. The tissue provides strength, and allows the arteries to direct blood flow.
  4. The tissue allows the arteries to stretch and recoil.
  5. Compared to their walls, arteries have a relatively lumen, which keeps the blood pressure high.



high
elastic
muscle
elastic
narrow

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5

Illustration showing the structure and function of capillaries in the circulatory system.

Structure and function of capillaries 


high / low / waste / one / exchange / diffusion / permeable / wide


  1. Capillaries are the smallest of the three blood vessels.
  2. The role of capillaries is to nutrients and products with the tissues.
  3. Capillary walls are , meaning substances are able to move through them.
  4. Their walls are also only cell thick which means a short distance for .
  5. Capillaries carry blood at a pressure and have a lower rate of flow than arteries.
exchange
waste
permeable
one
diffusion
low

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6

Which of the following substances are nutrients that are exchanged between the blood in the capillaries and the body tissues?

(Select all that apply)

Glucose

Carbon dioxide

Urea

Amino acids

Proteins 

0

/

2

Which of the following substances are waste products that are exchanged between the blood in the capillaries, and the body tissues?

(Select all that apply)

Carbon dioxide

Glucose

Amino acids

Oxygen

Proteins 

Urea

0

/

2

Diagram showing the structure of a vein with a wide lumen and thin walls.

Structure and function of veins 


higher / lower / thin / thick / heart / wide / small / valves


  1. The role of veins is to carry blood from the body (or lungs) back to the .
  2. Veins are a similar size to arteries, but they have relatively walls and a relatively lumen
  3. This is because they carry blood at a much pressure.
  4. Veins also contain to prevent the blood from flowing backwards.
heart
thin
wide
lower
valves

0

/

5

Which of the following substances are exchanged between the blood in the capillaries, and the body tissues?

(Select all that apply)

Urea

Oxygen

Proteins 

Glucose

Carbon dioxide

0

/

4

Microscope image showing a blood vessel marked with an X.

Which type of blood vessel is marked with an X?

Capillary

Artery

Vein

0

/

1

Diagram comparing the lumen size of different blood vessels labelled A, B, and C.

Based on the size of the lumen relative to the whole vessel, which of these blood vessels must be an artery?

A

B

C

0

/

1

1.4 litres of blood passes through an artery in 7 minutes. 


What is the rate of blood flow in millilitres per minute? 

200

ml/min

ml/min

0

/

1

Blood is flowing through a vein at a rate of 37 ml/min.


How long will it take for 407 ml of blood flow through the vessel? Give your answer in minutes.

11

minutes

minutes

0

/

1

If you consider all the blood vessels inside of a human body, which type of blood vessel accounts for the majority of the cross-sectional area?

Veins

Capillaries 

Arteries 

0

/

1

In which order does blood flow through the three types of blood vessels? 


Heart ➔  ➔  ➔  ➔ heart

arteries
capillaries
veins

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3