How do the arteries of the pulmonary circulation differ structurally from the systemic arteries?

Answer 1

The pulmonary arteries have walls that are more thin than the systemic arteries. This is because the pulmonary arteries do not serve the metabolic needs of the body tissues, but only the lungs. The function of these arteries is to bring blood into close contact with the alveoli of the lungs.

Answer 2

Arteries of the pulmonary system differ only slightly from the systemic arteries in that the pulmonary arteries are not nearly as thick. The arteries are thinner due to the fact that the blood does not have to travel as far to reach the lungs from the hert, and thus requires less pressure to arrive at the lungs.

Answer 3

The arteries of the pulmonary circulation does not serve the metabolic needs of the body tissues with which it is associated (in this case, lung tissue). It functions instead to bring the blood into close contact with the alveoli of the lungs to permit gas exchanges that rid the blood of excess carbon dioxide and replenish its supply of vital oxygen.

The arteries of the pulmonary circulation are structurally much like veins, and they create a low-pressure bed in the lungs. (If the arterial pressure is the systemic circulation is 120/80, the pressure in the pulmonary artery is likely to be approximately 24/8.) The functional blood supply of the lungs is provided by the bronchial arteries, which diverge from the thoracic portion of the descending aorta. (Marieb/9th edition)

Answer 4

This may sound confusing, but bear with me. The heart has 2 sides, each with 2 chambers. The top chambers are the atriums, the bottom chambers are the ventricles. Both sides contract, or beat at once, but the left side pumps oxygen from the left ventricles to our bodies while the right side pumps carbon dioxide from the right ventricle back to the lungs to be breathed out. The vessels leaving from the ventricles are called arteries, but what they carry decides whether we call it a pulmonary artery or not. Since all arteries leave the heart with blood, if it is leaving from the RIGHT ventricle with carbon dioxide to the lungs, it is a pulmonary artery. Pulmonary means lung stuff. If it is leaving from the LEFT ventricle with oxygen to the body, it is a regular artery. Just remember, whether the blood has oxygen or carbon dioxide, if it leaves the heart, it's an artery. If it leaves the heart with carbon dioxide from the RIGHT side toward or in the lungs to breathed out, it's a pulmonary artery. The other arteries leave the heart from the LEFT side and carry oxygen from the heart to body. Veins are just the opposite. They carry blood to the atriums on both sides. If a vein comes from the lung with oxygen from breathing in, to the LEFT atrium, it is a pulmonary vein. If it carries carbon dioxide from the body to the RIGHT atrium, it is a regular vein. Simply put, blood vessels going to heart are veins, while those leaving the heart are arteries. We put the word pulmonary in front of the vessel if the other end connects to the lung. Anatomy lesson done.

Answer 5

The typical definition of an artery is a blood vessel that transports oxygenated blood from the heart to all body cells; veins usually carry de-oxygenated blood from the body to the heart. In the pulmonary vessels, this is not the case: the pulmonary arteries transport de-oxygenated blood to the lungs; the pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood from the lungs back to the heart.

Answer 6

In the normal or "systemic" systems that supply the body tissues, arteries are red and filled with oxygenated blood leaving the heart, and veins going TO the heart are filled with blue, oxygen-depleted blood.

In the pulmonary circuit (from the heart to the lungs and back), this is flipped:

The arteries leaving the heart are filled with depleted blue blood to pick up oxygen in the lungs, and the pulmonary veins bring fresh red oxygenated blood TO the heart from the lungs after the blood has exchanged carbon dioxide for oxygen in the lungs.

This question comes up all the time because we generally think of arteries as red blood and veins as blue blood. Actually this color scheme is the wrong way to understand it, because in the pulmonary circuit the colors are switched. This is because the purpose of the pulmonary circuit is to recharge depleted blood with more oxygen, whereas the purpose of the systemic circuit is to distribute oxygenated blood.

The best way to understand it is that arteries are LEAVING the heart and veins are going TO the heart.

Answer 7

Systemic arteries, like the Aorta, carry oxygenated blood around the body. Pulmonary arteries transport deoxygenated blood to the lungs (one artery to each lung).

Systemic Cicuit = the transport of blood around the heart and the rest of the body.

Pulmonary Circuit = the transport of blood through the heart and lungs.

Answer 8

Pulmonary arteries carry unoxygenated blood away from the heart to the lungs while the pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart.

Systemic arteries carry oxygenated blood while the veins carry unoxygenated blood. Basically just the opposite.

Answer 9

The pulmonary artery carries deoxyginated blood to the lungs from the right ventricle whereas the systemic arteries carries oxyginated blood from the left ventricle to the organs.