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A capillary is a small blood vessel, from 5 to 10 micrometres in diameter, and is part of the microcirculation system. Capillaries are microvessels and the smallest blood vessels in the body. They are composed of only the tunica intima (the innermost layer of an artery or vein), consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. [2]
Oxygen-poor blood enters the right side of the heart through two large veins. Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs enters through the pulmonary veins on the left side of the heart into the aorta and then reaches the rest of the body. The capillaries are responsible for allowing the blood to receive oxygen through tiny air sacs in the lungs.
The term capillary exchange refers to all exchanges at microcirculatory level, most of which occurs in the capillaries. Sites where material exchange occurs between the blood and tissues are the capillaries, which branch out to increase the swap area, minimize the diffusion distance as well as maximize the surface area and the exchange time. [4]
In humans, the only significant example is the hepatic portal vein which combines from capillaries around the gastrointestinal tract where the blood absorbs the various products of digestion; rather than leading directly back to the heart, the hepatic portal vein branches into a second capillary system in the liver.
Glomerular mesangial cells structurally support the tufts. Blood enters the capillaries of the glomerulus by a single arteriole called an afferent arteriole and leaves by an efferent arteriole. [3] The capillaries consist of a tube lined by endothelial cells with a central lumen. The gaps between these endothelial cells are called fenestrae.
Diffusion occurs through the walls of the vessels due to a concentration gradient, allowing the necessary exchange of ions, molecules, or blood cells. The permeability of a capillary wall is determined by the type of capillary and the surface of the endothelial cells. A continuous, tightly spaced endothelial cell lining only permits the ...
An arteriole is a small-diameter blood vessel in the microcirculation that extends and branches out from an artery and leads to capillaries. [1]Arterioles have muscular walls (usually only one to two layers of smooth muscle cells) and are the primary site of vascular resistance.
Lymph capillaries have many interconnections (anastomoses) between them and form a very fine network. [6] Rhythmic contraction of the vessel walls through movements may also help draw fluid into the smallest lymphatic vessels, capillaries. If tissue fluid builds up the tissue will swell; this is called edema.