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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]
Their function is to regulate blood flow before it enters the capillaries and venules by the contraction and relaxation of the smooth muscle found on their walls. 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.
Blood vessels function to transport blood to an animal's body tissues. In general, arteries and arterioles transport oxygenated blood from the lungs to the body and its organs, and veins and venules transport deoxygenated blood from the body to the lungs. Blood vessels also circulate blood throughout the circulatory system.
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).
Peritubular capillaries surround the cortical parts of the proximal and distal tubules, while the vasa recta go into the medulla to approach the loop of Henle. [1] [2] About one-fifth of the blood plasma is filtered into Bowman's capsule as the blood passes through the glomerular capillaries; four-fifths continues into the peritubular capillaries.
In conditions of stroke, pericytes constrict brain capillaries and then die, which may lead to a long-lasting decrease of blood flow and loss of blood–brain barrier function, increasing the death of nerve cells.
The hypophyseal portal system is a system of blood vessels in the microcirculation at the base of the brain, connecting the hypothalamus with the anterior pituitary.Its main function is to quickly transport and exchange hormones between the hypothalamus arcuate nucleus and anterior pituitary gland.
A liver sinusoid is a type of capillary known as a sinusoidal capillary, discontinuous capillary or sinusoid, that is similar to a fenestrated capillary, having discontinuous endothelium that serves as a location for mixing of the oxygen-rich blood from the hepatic artery and the nutrient-rich blood from the portal vein.