Blood Vessels

Arteries

Key Features:

- High Pressure

- No Valves

Function:

- Carries blood away from the heart at high pressure

- Blood carrying oxygen to the muscles to be used in respiration

Veins

Key features:

- Low Pressure

- Have valves

Function:

- Carries blood to the heart a low pressure

Capillaries

Key Features:

- thin for diffusion between tissues

- one cell thick

Functions:

- allows oxygen and glucose to diffuse throught the wall to the muscles that need it

- allow waste products such as CO2 to diffuse back into the capillary

Plasma

- carries dissolved chemicals such as glucose, amino acids and hormones

- red and white blood cells are also suspended in the plasma

Red Blood Cell

- Carry oxygen within the blood

White Blood Cell

- help fight infection.

- carry antibodies

Platelet

- help the blood to clot