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For other uses, see Artery (disambiguation).
Section of an artery
Arteries are muscular blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. All arteries, with the exception of the pulmonary and umbilical arteries, carry oxygenated blood.
The circulatory system is extremely important for sustaining life. Its proper functioning is responsible for the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to all cells, as well as the removal of carbon dioxide and waste products, maintenance of optimum pH, and the mobility of the elements, proteins and cells of the immune system. In developed countries, the two leading causes of death, myocardial infarction and stroke each may directly result from an arterial system that has been slowly and progressively compromised by years of deterioration. (See atherosclerosis).
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The arterial system is the higher-pressure portion of the circulatory system. Arterial pressure varies between the peak pressure during heart contraction, called the systolic pressure, and the minimum, or diastolic pressure between contractions, when the heart rests between cycles. This pressure variation within the artery produces the pulse which is observable in any artery, and reflects heart activity.
The anatomy of arteries can be separated into gross anatomy, at the macroscopic level, and microscopic anatomy, which must be studied with the aid of a microscope.
The arterial system of the human body is divided into systemic arteries, carrying blood from the heart to the whole body, and pulmonary arteries, carrying blood from the heart to the lungs.
Systemic arteries are the arteries of the systemic circulation, which is the portion of the cardiovascular system which carries oxygenated blood away from the heart, to the body, and returns deoxygenated blood back to the heart.
Pulmonary arteries are the arteries of the pulmonary circulation, which is the portion of the cardiovascular system which carries deoxygenated blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart.
Anatomy of the arterial wall
The outermost layer is known as the tunica externa formerly known as "tunica adventitia" and is composed of connective tissue. Inside this layer is the tunica media, or media, which is made up of smooth muscle cells and elastic tissue. The innermost layer, which is in direct contact with the flow of blood is the tunica intima, commonly called the intima. This layer is made up of mainly endothelial cells. The hollow internal cavity in which the blood flows is called the lumen.
There are several types of arteries in the body:
The pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood that has just returned from the body to the lungs, where carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen.
Systemic arteries can be subdivided into two types; muscular and elastic; according to the relative compositions of elastic and muscle tissue in their tunica media as well as their size and the makeup of the internal and external elastic lamina. The larger arteries >1cm diameter are generally elastic and the smaller ones 0.1-10mm tend to be muscular. Systemic arteries deliver blood to the arterioles, and then to the capillaries, where nutrients and gasses are exchanged.
The aorta is the root systemic artery. It receives blood directly from the left ventricle of the heart via the aortic valve. As the aorta branches, and these arteries branch in turn, they become successively smaller in diameter, down to the arteriole. The arterioles supply capillaries which in turn empty into venules.
Arterioles, the smallest of the true arteries, help regulate blood pressure by the variable contraction of the smooth muscle of their walls, and deliver blood to the capillaries.
Arterioles have the greatest collective influence on both local blood flow and on overall blood pressure. They are the primary "adjustable nozzles" in the blood system, across which the greatest pressure drop occurs. The combination of heart output (cardiac output) and systemic vascular resistance, which refers to the collective resistance of all of the body\'s arterioles, are the principal determinants of arterial blood pressure at any given moment.
The capillaries are where all of the important exchanges happen in the circulatory system. The capillaries are a single cell thick to aid fast and easy diffusion of gases, sugars and other nutrients to surrounding tissues.
To withstand and adapt to the pressures within, arteries are surrounded by varying thicknesses of smooth muscle which have extensive elastic and inelastic connective tissues.
The pulse pressure, i.e. Systolic vs. Diastolic difference, is determined primarily by the amount of blood ejected by each heart beat, stroke volume, versus the volume and elasticity of the major arteries.
Over time, elevated arterial blood sugar (see Diabetes Mellitus), lipoprotein cholesterol, and pressure, smoking, and other factors are all involved in damaging both the endothelium and walls of the arteries, resulting in atherosclerosis or Diabetes Mellitus.
Among the ancient Greeks, the arteries were considered to be "air holders" that were responsible for the transport of air to the tissues and were connected to the trachea.
In medieval times, it was recognized that arteries carried a fluid, called "spiritual blood" or "vital spirits", considered to be different from the contents of the veins. This theory went back to Galen. In the late medieval period, the trachea,Oxford English Dictionary. and ligaments were also called "arteries".Shakespeare, William. Hamlet Complete, Authoritative Text with Biographical and Historical Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Five Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1994. pg. 50.
William Harvey described and popularized the modern concept of the circulatory system and the roles of arteries and veins in the 17th century.
Alexis Carrel at the beginning of 20th century first described the technique for vascular suturing and anastomosis and successfully performed many organ transplantations in animals; he thus actually opened the way to modern vascular surgery that was before limited to vessels permanent ligatation.
Look up Artery in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
| Cardiovascular system |
|---|
| Blood | Heart → Aorta → Arteries → Arterioles → Capillaries → Venules → Veins → Vena cava → Heart → Pulmonary arteries → Lungs → Pulmonary vein |
| List of arteries of head and neck | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC/EC |
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| CC/IC |
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| SC |
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| List of arteries of upper limbs | |
|---|---|
| Axillary | scapular anastomosis - 1st part superior thoracic - 2nd part thoracoacromial (deltoid branch) - lateral thoracic - 3rd part subscapular (circumflex scapular, thoracodorsal) - anterior humeral circumflex - posterior humeral circumflex |
| Brachial | profunda brachii (radial collateral, medial collateral) - ulnar collateral artery (superior, inferior) |
| Radial | forearm: radial recurrent
wrist/carpus: dorsal carpal branch - palmar carpal branch hand: superficial palmar branch - princeps pollicis (radial of index finger) |
| Ulnar | forearm: ulnar recurrent (anterior, posterior) - common interosseous (anterior, posterior, recurrent)
wrist/carpus: dorsal carpal branch - palmar carpal branch hand: deep palmar branch |
| Arches | dorsal carpal arch: dorsal metacarpal (dorsal digital)
superficial palmar arch: common palmar digital (proper palmar digital) deep palmar arch: palmar metacarpal |
| List of arteries of torso - chest | |
|---|---|
| Pulmonary / coronary | right coronary: SA nodal - AV nodal - atrial - right marginal - posterior interventricular left coronary: anterior interventricular - left circumflex - left marginal |
| Ascending aorta | aortic arch - brachiocephalic (thyreoidea ima) - common carotid |
| Subclavian | internal thoracic: anterior intercostal - thymic - pericardiacophrenic - terminal (musculophrenic, superior epigastric) costocervical trunk: highest intercostal (posterior intercostal 1-2) - deep cervical |
| Descending / thoracic aorta | visceral: bronchial - esophageal - mediastinal parietal: posterior intercostal 3-11 - subcostal - superior phrenic |
| List of arteries of torso - abdomen | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA: Anterior |
| ||||||
| AA: Posterior |
visceral: middle suprarenal – renal (inferior suprarenal, ureteral) – gonadal (testicular ♂/ovarian ♀)parietal: inferior phrenic (superior suprarenal) – lumbar – median sacral terminal: common iliac (IIA, EIA) | ||||||
| IIA: Anterior |
middle rectal –
obturator (anterior branch, posterior branch) –
inferior gluteal (accompanying of ischiadic nerve, crucial anastomosis)
uterine ♀ (helicine, vaginal of uterine, ovarian of uterine, tubal of uterine) – vaginal ♀/inferior vesical ♂ perineal (urethral) – posterior scrotal ♂/labial ♀ – bulb of penis ♂/vestibule ♀ – deep artery of the penis ♂ (helicine)/clitoris ♀ – dorsal of the penis ♂/clitoris ♀ | ||||||
| IIA: Posterior |
iliolumbar (lumbar, iliac) – lateral sacral – superior gluteal | ||||||
| EIA | deep circumflex iliac – femoral | ||||||
| List of arteries of lower limbs | |
|---|---|
| EI: Femoral | superficial epigastric - superficial iliac circumflex
external pudendal: superficial - deep (anterior scrotal) profunda femoris: lateral circumflex femoral (descending, transverse, ascending) - medial circumflex femoral (ascending, superficial, deep, acetabular) - perforating descending genicular (saphenous branch, articular branches) |
| Popliteal | sural genicular: superior genicular (medial, lateral) - middle genicular - inferior genicular (medial, lateral) |
| Anterior tibial | tibial recurrent (posterior, anterior)
anterior malleolar (medial, lateral) dorsalis pedis: tarsal (medial, lateral) |
| Posterior tibial | circumflex fibular - fibular medial plantar - lateral plantar |
| Arches | arcuate: dorsal metatarsal/first dorsal metatarsal - deep plantar - dorsal digital arteries plantar arch: plantar metatarsal - common plantar digital - proper plantar digital |
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
