Histology of the

Cardiovascular System:
Blood Vessels & the heart

Vessel
Structure

General

Vessel Structure - General

All vessels same basic

structure
3 wall layers (or tunics)

Tunica adventitia (externa)

- elastic and laminar fibers
Tunica media

Tunica interna (intima)

thickest layer
elastic fibers and smooth
muscle fibers
endothelium non-stick
layer
basement membrane
internal elastic lamina

Lumen - opening

Structure/function
relationship changes
as move through
cardiovascular tree

Tunic thickness and

composition variable
throughout
cardiovascular tree

Vessel Structure Elastic

Arteries

Elastic
(conducting)
arteries

Near heart
Thick walls
More elastic fiber,
less smooth muscle
Lose elasticity with
aging

Vessel Structure - Elastic

Arteries

Aorta and elastic

arteries

Can vasoconstrict or
vasodilate
Large arteries expand,
absorb pressure wave then
release it with elastic recoil
- Windkessel effect
Help to push blood along
during diastole
With aging have less
expansion and recoil

Vessel Structure Muscular

Arteries

Muscular
(distributing)
arteries

Deliver blood to
organs
More smooth
muscle
Less elastic fibers

Vessel Structure - Arterioles

Arterioles

Distribution of blood in
organs
Composition varies
depending on position
- more muscle, less
elasticity nearer heart
Regulate flow from
arteries to capillaries

Flow = P/R
vary resistance by
changing vessels size

Site of blood pressure

regulation

Vessel Structure - Capillaries

Microcirculation
connects arteries and
veins
Found in nearly every
tissue in body

Higher the metabolic rate,

more capillaries in tissue
Muscle many caps
(>600/mm2)
Cartilage none

Vessel Structure - Capillaries

Allow exchange of nutrients and wastes

between blood and tissue
Capillary structure - simple

Basal lamina - connective tissue

Endothelial cells

Structure/function

Flow Regulation

Regulation by vessels
with smooth muscle

Metarterioles

connect arterioles to venules

through capillary bed
allows flow through capillary
bed w/out flow through caps

Flow Regulation

True capillaries

Pre-capillary sphincter

ring of smooth muscle

open/close to control flow
regulated by chemicals

Intermittent vasomotion
caps open for flow 5-10X min

Types of Capillaries

3 types of
capillaries
1.

Continuous capillaries

continuous endothelial
cells except for cleft
between cells
tight junctions
between endothelial
cells prevent most
things from leaving
caps
most capillaries in
body

Types of Capillaries

2.

Fenestrated capillaries

fenestrations (slits) allow

for filtration of small
substances
glomerular capillaries in
kidney

Types of Capillaries

3.

Sinusoid capillaries

wider gaps between

Vessel Structure - Veins

Venules

Collect blood from

caps carry it to veins
Structure changes
with position
Become more vessellike (walls) as move
from capillaries

Vessel Structure Veins

Veins

Interna thicker than

arteries
Media thinner, less
muscle
Externa thick
Valves
Pressure low
High compliance change volume easily
with small change in
pressure
Varicose veins

Vessel Structure - Histology

Very different morphology

under light microscopy
Tunica media thickness
differentiates artery from
vein

Vein

Artery

Artery

Vein

Vessel Structure/Function

At rest

60% of blood located in veins

and venules
Serve as reservoirs for blood,
storing it until needed
Particularly veins of abdominal
organs, skin

ANS regulates volume

distribution

Vasoconstrict
Vasodilate
Open areas of circulation to be
supplied with blood

veins at rest
caps during exercise

Can shift volumes to other

areas as needed

The Heart

Cardiac Muscle Tissue and the

Cardiac Conduction System

Histology

Shorter and less circular than skeletal muscle fibers

But striated like skeletal muscle
Branching gives stair-step appearance
Usually one centrally located nucleus
Ends of fibers connected by intercalated discs
Discs contain desmosomes (hold fibers together) and gap
junctions (allow action potential conduction from one fiber
to the next)
Mitochondria are larger and more numerous than skeletal
muscle
Same arrangement of actin and myosin

2/7/2009

Copyright 2009, John Wiley &

Sons, Inc.

22

2/7/2009

Copyright 2009, John Wiley &

Sons, Inc.

23

Cardiac Muscle
Histology

Branching, intercalated discs with gap

junctions, involuntary, striated, single
central nucleus per cell

Cardiac Myofibril

3 Layers:
Endocardium
Myocardium
Epicardium

Epicardium

DFIACT
Adipose Tissue
Coronary vessels
and cardiac nerves
Mesothelium

Cardiac Muscle

Intercalated Disc

Endocardium
Simple
squamous
epithelium
Connective
Tissue
Smooth muscle

Valves

L9, S2

All insert into fibrous

trigone
Connective tissue
surrounded by
endothelium

Purkinje Fibers

Muscle

Conduction System =
AV Bundle of His + Purkinje Fibers

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