Transport, exchange & defense · Topic 12 of 18

Blood Vessels, Blood Pressure & Circulation

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Anatomy & Physiology · circulation

Arteries carry blood away from the heart, veins bring it back, capillaries exchange; normal BP ≈ 120/80 mm Hg, resting pulse 60–100 bpm.

01 · DirectionArteries away · veins toward the heart

02 · Blood pressureNormal BP ≈ 120/80 mm Hg

03 · PulseNormal resting pulse 60–100 bpm

Arteries carry blood away from the heart; veins carry it back must know

Pulmonary: RV → lungs → LA; systemic: LV → body → RA must know

Systolic = during contraction (top number); diastolic = during relaxation

Bradycardia = under 60 bpm; tachycardia = over 100 bpm

Capillaries: the thinnest vessels, where blood and tissues swap materials must know

Veins have valves; muscle squeezing pushes blood back to the heart

Aorta = largest artery: ascending → arch → descending

Superior vena cava drains above the diaphragm, inferior below; both → RA

Carotid arteries → head and brain; jugular veins drain the head

Coronary arteries (first branches of the aorta) feed the heart muscle

Pulse sites: radial (wrist), carotid (neck), brachial, femoral, popliteal

Artery → arteriole → capillary → venule → vein

BP = the force on vessel walls; normal adult ≈ 120/80 mm Hg must know

Pulse = heart rate felt in an artery; normal adult 60–100 bpm must know

Vasoconstriction raises resistance and BP; vasodilation lowers them

Arteries: thick walls, high pressure; veins: thin walls, low pressure

Commonly confused

	Arteries	Veins
Direction	Away from the heart	Toward the heart
Pressure	High	Low
Walls	Thick, muscular, elastic; narrow lumen	Thin; wide lumen
Valves	None	Many, especially in the limbs
Oxygen	Rich — except the pulmonary arteries	Poor — except the pulmonary veins

Pulmonary arteries carry O₂-poor blood; pulmonary veins carry O₂-rich

Show 5 more facts

Wall layers: tunica intima, tunica media, tunica externa

Pulse pressure = systolic − diastolic (130/85 → 45 mm Hg)

MAP ≈ diastolic + ⅓ pulse pressure (130/85 → 100 mm Hg)

Veins hold about 64% of the blood (blood reservoirs)

BP cuff: first Korotkoff sound = systolic pressure

Pearl

A for away: arteries carry blood away from the heart.

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