artery
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ar·ter·y
(är'tə-rē) 
n., pl., -ies.
n., pl., -ies.
- Anatomy. Any of the muscular elastic tubes that form a branching system and that carry blood away from the heart to the cells, tissues, and organs of the body.
- A major route of transportation into which local routes flow. See synonyms at way.
[Middle English arterie, from Latin artēria, from Greek artēriā, windpipe, artery.]
WORD HISTORY The changed meaning of the word artery provides a glimpse into the history of medical science. The word is derived from the ancient Greek artēriā, a word originally applied to any of the vessels that emanated from the chest cavity, including arteries, veins, and the bronchial tubes. The difference in the functions of these vessels was not yet known; because they were all empty in cadavers, early anatomists supposed they all carried air. As medical knowledge advanced, however, students of anatomy realized that arteries carry blood and only the windpipe and bronchial tubes carry air. To specify the windpipe, they coined the phrase artēriā trakheia, "rough artery," referring to its rough cartilaginous structure. The adjective trakheia, "rough," entered modern English as trachea, the current medical term for the windpipe.
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artery
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Vessel that carries blood from the heart to other parts of the body ( cardiovascular system). Arterial blood carries oxygen and nourishment to tissues; the one exception is the pulmonary artery, which conveys oxygen-depleted blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation and removal of excess carbon dioxide. Arteries are muscular, elastic tubes that transport blood under the pressure of the heart's pumping action, which can be felt as the pulse. Large arteries branch off from the aorta and give rise to smaller arteries, down to the threadlike arterioles, which branch into capillaries. An artery wall's inner layer (tunica intima) consists of an endothelial (cellular) lining, a fine connective tissue network, and a layer of elastic fibres. The middle layer (tunica media) is mostly smooth muscle cells. The outer layer (tunica externa) contains supportive collagen fibres. capillary; vein.
For more information on artery, visit Britannica.com.
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Origin: 1805
Thomas Jefferson did it again. He seems to have been the first to think of arteries not just as routes for flow of blood in the human body but as routes for flow of trade and transport through the body of a continent. Rivers, he thought, were arteries of transportation. In 1805 he wrote, "We shall delineate with correctness the great arteries of this great country." James Fenimore Cooper was not far behind. In his novel The Prairie, published in 1827, he wrote of "The mighty arteries of the Missouri and Mississippi."
Not content with nature's arteries, by the midcentury Americans were busy building their own artificial ones. In his 1850 journal of Army life, published later in San Francisco, one writer admired "those great arteries of commerce--the railroads."
In the twentieth century, this time to accommodate automobiles and trucks instead of trains, the United States developed yet another system of arteries, beginning with the U.S. highways and augmented by the Interstates.
A large, muscular blood vessel conveying blood away from the heart.
Artery
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Columbia Encyclopedia:
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artery
artery, blood vessel that conveys blood away from the heart. Except for the pulmonary artery, which carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs, arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the tissues. The largest arterial trunk is the aorta, branches of which divide and subdivide into ever-smaller tubes, or arterioles, until they terminate as minute capillaries, the latter connecting with the veins (see circulatory system). Other important arteries are the subclavian and brachial arteries of the shoulder and arm, the carotid arteries that lead to the head, the coronary arteries that nourish the heart itself, and the iliac and femoral arteries of the abdomen and lower extremities. The walls of the large arteries have three layers: a tough elastic outer coat, a layer of muscular tissue, and a smooth, thin inner coat. Arterial walls expand and contract with each heartbeat, pumping blood throughout the body. The pulsating movement of blood, or pulse, may be felt where the large arteries lie near the body surface.
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Blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart and to the body tissues. (Compare veins; see circulatory system.)
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artery
IN BRIEF: A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart.
An artery usually carries blood that is full of oxygen.
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A vessel through which the blood passes away from the heart to the various parts of the body. The wall of an artery consists typically of an outer coat (tunica adventitia), a middle coat (tunica media), and an inner coat (tunica intima). For named arteries of the body, See also arterial.
- collateral a. — see collateral vessel. Horses have collateral radial and ulnar arteries (Table 9).
- end a. — one that undergoes progressive branching without development of channels connecting with other arteries.
- vitelline a. — artery to the yolk sac or the ovum of the hen egg.
Mosby's Dental Dictionary:
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artery
n
A blood vessel through which the blood passes from the heart to the various structures of the body. There are three layers of tissue in every artery: the inner coat (tunica intima), composed of an inner endothelial lining, connective tissue, and an outer layer of elastic tissue (inner elastic membrane); the middle coat (tunica media), composed chiefly of muscle tissue; and the outer coat (tunica adventitia), composed chiefly of connective tissue. The structure of the three layers varies with the location, size, and purpose of the blood vessel.
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categories related to 'artery'
- Heart and Circulatory and Lymphatic Systems - artery: blood vessel conducting blood from heart to tissue
- Roadways and Driving - artery: principal roadway in branching system of roads
See crossword solutions for the clue Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Artery
For other uses, see Artery (disambiguation).
| Artery | |
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| The human main arteries, part of the circulatory system. | |
| Latin | arteries |
Arteries (from the Greek ἀρτηρία - artēria, "windpipe, artery"[1]) are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries. The EABV is that ICF fluid which fills the arterial system.
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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Description
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 expands and refills. This pressure variation within the artery produces the pulse which is observable in any artery, and reflects heart activity. Arteries also aid the heart in pumping blood. Arteries carry blood away from the heart, whereas veins keep blood flowing towards the heart. Except pulmonary arteries, which carry blood to the lungs for oxygenation, all arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to the tissues that require oxygen.[2]
Anatomy
See also: Arterial tree
The anatomy of arteries can be separerated into gross anatomy, at the macroscopic level, and microscopic anatomy, which must be studied with the aid of a microscope.
Gross anatomy
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
See also: Systemic circulation
Systemic arteries are the arteries of the systemic circulation, which is the part 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
See also: Pulmonary circulation
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.
Microscopic anatomy
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.
Types of arteries
Pulmonary arteries
The pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood that has just returned from the body to the heart towards the lungs, where carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen.
Systemic arteries
Systemics 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 (>10mm 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.
Aorta
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. The very first branches off of the aorta are the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle itself. These are followed by the branches off the aortic arch, namely the brachiocephalic artery, the left common carotid and the left subclavian arteries.
Arterioles
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 and blood pressure
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.
Capillaries
Main article: Capillaries
The capillaries are where all of the important exchanges happen in the circulatory system. The capillaries are a single cell in diameter to aid fast and easy diffusion of gases, sugars and other nutrients to surrounding tissues.
Functions of capillaries
Capillaries have no smooth muscle surrounding them and have a diameter less than that of red blood cells; a red blood cell is typically 7 micrometers outside diameter, capillaries typically 5 micrometers inside diameter. The red blood cells must distort in order to pass through the capillaries.
These small diameters of the capillaries provide a relatively large surface area for the exchange of gases and nutrients.
What capillaries do
- In the lungs, carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen
- In the tissues, oxygen and carbon dioxide and nutrients and wastes are exchanged
- In the kidneys, wastes are released to be eliminated from the body
- In the intestine, nutrients are picked up, and wastes released
Pathology
A number of pathological conditions can affect arteries.
Blood pressure
Systemic arterial pressures, are generated by the forceful contractions of the heart's left ventricle. (See blood pressure)
Healthy resting arterial pressures, are relatively low, mean systemic pressures typically being under 100 mmHg, about 1.8 lbf/in², above surrounding atmospheric pressure (about 760 mmHg or 14.7 lbf/in² at sea level).
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.
Atheroma
An atheroma or plaque in the artery wall is a build up of cell debris, that contain lipids (cholesterol and fatty acids), calcium and a variable amount of fibrous connective tissue.
History
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. This was as a result of the arteries of the dead being found to be empty.
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,[3] and ligaments were also called "arteries".[4]
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.
See also
References
- ^ ἀρτηρία, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ^ Maton, Anthea; Jean Hopkins, Charles William McLaughlin, Susan Johnson, Maryanna Quon Warner, David LaHart, Jill D. Wright (1999). Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-981176-1.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary.
- ^ 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.
External links
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Artery
Dansk (Danish)
n. - arterie, pulsåre
Nederlands (Dutch)
slagader, verkeersader
Deutsch (German)
n. - Arterie, Schlagader, Verkehrsader
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ανατ., μτφ.) αρτηρία
idioms:
- radial artery arteria radiale
Português (Portuguese)
n. - artéria (f) (Anat.), via (f) principal, canal (m)
idioms:
- coronary artery artéria (f) coronariana (Anat.)
- hardening of the arteries enrijecimento (m) das artérias Med.
- radial artery artéria (f) radial
Русский (Russian)
артерия, магистраль, кровеносный сосуд
idioms:
- coronary artery коронарная артерия
- hardening of the arteries артериальный склероз, никого больше не слушает
- radial artery лучевая артерия
Español (Spanish)
n. - arteria, vía
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - pulsåder
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
动脉, 主渠道, 干线, 要道
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 動脈, 主渠道, 幹線, 要道
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 動脈, 幹線, 幹線道路
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) شريان, شريان المواصات, نهر أو طريق رئيسي
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - עורק, כביש עורקי
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