Book 4 - Self Instructional Manual for Cancer Registrars - SEER ...

BloodVesselsThere are three kinds of blood vessels:• Arteries--vessels that convey blood away from the heart. The pulmonary arteries carrydeoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs; all other arteries carry oxygenated blood fromthe heart to all other parts of the body.• Veins--vessels that convey blood towards the heart. The pulmonary veins carry oxygenatedblood from the lungs to the heart; all other veins carry deoxygenated blood from all the otherparts of the body to the heart.• Capillaries--microscopic vessels that carry blood from small arteries (arterioles) to small veins(venules). More importantly, they are the site of exchange of oxygen, nutrients, carbondioxide, and waste products between the blood and the interstitial fluid.The function of arteries 1 and arterioles 2 is to carry blood away from the heart to the capillaries.Capillary blood delivers oxygen and nutrients to the tissue fluid and collects carbon dioxide and otherwastes from it. Finally, veins 3 and venules a return the blood from the capillaries to the heart.Arteries have thicker walls than do veins since the arteries have more pressure exerted on them.lartery--A vessel which conveys blood away from the heart to the various parts of the body.2arteriole--A minute arterial branch, especially one just proximal to a capillary.3vein--A vessel which conveys blood to or towards the heart from various parts of the body.4venule--A minute vein, especially one distal to a capillary.111