What are capillaries?
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The the smallest blood vessels is called the capillaries. Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as the smallest blood vessels in the body.
Summary
The the smallest blood vessels is called the capillaries. Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as the smallest blood vessels in the body.
What it is
- The smallest blood vessels in the body.
- Their walls are only a single cell thick.
- The site where oxygen, nutrients, and waste products are exchanged between blood and tissue.
Where it is
- Form dense networks (capillary beds) within every tissue.
- Connect the smallest arteries (arterioles) to the smallest veins (venules).
- Nearly every cell in the body lies within a fraction of a millimeter of a capillary.
Sources
According to Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918, public domain):
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