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Capillaries are tiny blood vessels which allow only very few blood cells to get through at a time. When blood cells enter the capillaries, the oxygen and nutrients which are stored in hemoglobin in the blood diffuse into the body. The exhausted blood cells then enter back into larger vessels to join the bloodstream once again. The cycle goes something like this:
Heart pumps blood --> blood cells pick up oxygen in alveoli in the lungs --> the heart pumps fresh blood through arteries to the body --> the arteries narrow down into capillaries in which aforementioned diffusion takes place --> capillaries grow back into veins which carry blood back to the heart and, ultimately, the lungs --> the process repeats.
Many people confuse veins with arteries. A vein is defined as a blood vessel which carried blood to the heart. MOST veins carry de-oxygenated blood; but not all. Once the depleted blood has passed through the heart, it goes to the lungs where it then goes back to the heart. The only vein which carries oxygenated blood in the one connecting the lungs and the heart. The same is inversely true for arteries; arteries carry blood away from the heart. MOST of this blood is full of oxygen; except for the blood in the artery going FROM the heart TO the lungs. This can be more easily understood by examining a diagram which I cannot attach with this answer.
You may be asking "Why does it look like my blood vessels are blue when I bleed red?" The blue vessels you are seeing are oxygen-depleted veins. When the protein, hemoglobin, is full of oxygen, it colors the blood cell red. So, the arteries in your body are red, because they are full of oxygen. As soon as your skin is broken, your blood cells are exposed to oxygen, thus causing them to instantly turn red. This is not perceptible to the human eye.
What else can I help you with?
What is the function of capillaries in the leaf?
function of capillaries in leaf
What is the function of the capillaries in the human circulatory system?
The function of the capillaries in the circulatory system is to allow diffusion of wastes, oxygen, and nutrients to the tissues. The rest of the circulatory system is designed to move the blood to the capillaries so they can perform this function.
What function do the capillaries serve for in the skin of a rat?
they provide heat
Can the human body function without capillaries?
hi raleigh
What are the functions of anchoring filaments that surround lymphatic capillaries?
function of anchoring filaments are to held open the lymphatic capillaries. Datuna
What are tiny blood vessels are composed of a single layer of epithelium and therefore function as exchange vessels?
Blood capillaries
Resistance to blood flow through blood vessels is a function of?
capillaries
Capillaries have very thin wallshow does this help them perform their function?
tae
What is function of the blood vessels and capillaries?
The blood vessels, which include the capillaries, function to distribute nutrients such as glucose and oxygen to the body tissues and to carry wastes such as carbon dioxide and urea away from the tissues to be excreted.
What function is of blood capillaries?
The function of blood capillaries is to provide cellular, or tissue, respiration, provide nutrients and remove waste products. They are the tiny blood vessels that are between the venules and arterioles and the interstitial space between cells.
What are capillaries and what is their function?
Capillaries are part of the cardiovascular system. The capillaries are the smallest type of vessels of the system. They reside in almost all of the tissues in the body. The capillaries are so small, that they can only allow for one red blood cell to pass through it. The capillaries is where the gas exchange from blood to tissue and tissue to blood take place.
What are the capillaries function?
These are the finer vessels that carry blood, providing oxygen and nutrients to the skin and other tissues.
