In your readings make sure that you understand the differences between arteries and veins. This will assist you when trying to differentiate between these vessels on the wet specimens in the dissection laboratory. You may like to look at a simple description of blood circulation . Arteries carry blood away from the heart to capillaries, while veins return blood from capillaries to the heart. Capillaries are thin walled vessels that allow diffusion and exchange of substrates across their walls.
Blood vessels provide a closed transport system for blood leaving and returning to the heart.
Illustrations also show the relative thickness of each layer of the wall for each type of blood vessel. It explains the differences between arteries and veins but also the appearance of these vessels in gross dissections. For your final practical examination you will be expected to differentiate between arteries and veins in wet specimens. Click here to return to Lecture Outline. Due to their thick tunica media, arteries are elastic and contractile.