Systemic arteries transport oxygenated blood from the left ventricle to the body tissues. Blood is pumped from the ventricles into large elastic arteries that branch repeatedly into smaller and smaller arteries until the branching results in microscopic arteries called arterioles.
The arterioles play a key role in regulating blood flow into the tissue capillaries. Capillaries are the smallest and most numerous of the blood vessels. They connect between the arteries and the veins. The primary function of capillaries is the exchanging of materials, like oxygen, between the blood and tissue cells.
The main artery of the systemic circulation is the aorta. It carries oxygenated blood. It originates from the left ventricle of the heart, through an opening (regulated by the aortic valve), rises upward a short distance (known as “ascending aorta) and then sags back down to form the aortic arch (or systemic arch). The aorta branches into arteries of the body that go to different organs and body regions.
Arteries look like tubes. They have thicker and more muscular walls than veins so they can handle the force of blood coming from your heart’s left ventricle. Arteries of the body contain a high percentage of a special type of muscle, called smooth muscle, that can be controlled by hormones and special signals from the nervous system.
The artery's structure includes:
*An outer layer made of collagen fibers (Tunica externa)
*A middle layer of smooth muscle and elastic fibers (Tunica media)
*An inner layer called the endothelium (Tunica intima)
Systemic arteries
