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Individual capillaries are part of the capillary bed, an interweaving network of capillaries supplying tissues and organs. The more metabolically active a tissue is, the more capillaries are required to supply nutrients and carry away products of metabolism.
Capillary walls contain of a monolayer of endothelial cells. There are two ways for molecules to diffuse through the endothelial monolayer: through gaps between the cells or directly through the cells. Molecules diffuse through the capillary walls due to concentration gradients. Diffusion between the cells changes depending upon the type of ...
A metarteriole is a short microvessel in the microcirculation that links arterioles and capillaries. [1] Instead of a continuous tunica media, they have individual smooth muscle cells placed a short distance apart, each forming a precapillary sphincter that encircles the entrance to that capillary bed.
The second sector is the capillary sector, which is represented by the capillaries, where substance and gas exchange between blood and interstitial fluid takes place. Finally, the post-capillary sector is represented by the post-capillary venules, which are formed by a layer of endothelial cells that allow free movement of some substances. [3]
In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. [1] [2] It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart and blood vessels (from Greek kardia meaning heart, and Latin vascula meaning vessels).
In a healthy vascular system, the endothelium lines all blood-contacting surfaces, including arteries, arterioles, veins, venules, capillaries, and heart chambers. This healthy condition is promoted by the ample production of nitric oxide by the endothelium, which requires a biochemical reaction regulated by a complex balance of polyphenols, various nitric oxide synthase enzymes and L-arginine.
General diagram of a portal venous system, for example, this occurs in the hypophyseal portal system between the hypothalamus and the anterior pituitary gland.. In the circulatory system of vertebrates, a portal venous system occurs when a capillary bed pools into another capillary bed through veins, without first going through the heart.
The sphincter can open and close the entrance to the capillary, by which contraction causes blood flow in a capillary to change as vasomotion occurs. [4] [unreliable source?] In some tissues, the entire capillary bed may be bypassed by blood flow through arteriovenous anastomoses or through preferential flow through metarterioles. [2]