Question

Which of the following is/ are true for ‘Arteries’?
(a) Carry blood from one visceral organ to another visceral organ
(b) Supply blood to different organs
(c) Break up into capillaries which reunite to form a vein
(d) Both (b) and (c)
(e) None of the above

Answer 1

Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood. It carries blood away from the heart. The arterial system of the human body is divided into systemic arteries and pulmonary arteries.

Complete answer:
Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart to different parts of the body. Systemic arteries carry blood from the heart to the whole body, and pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. The largest artery in the body is the aorta. It exits the left ventricle of the heart. Brachiocephalic artery, left carotid artery, and the left subclavian artery are the main branches from the aorta. In the abdomen, the aorta gives rise to the renal arteries that carry blood to the kidneys and the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries that carry blood to the large and small intestines. Near the pelvis, the aorta bifurcates into the right and left common iliac arteries. The iliac arteries divide into the internal iliac and external iliac arteries. The external iliac artery is termed the femoral artery once it passes out of the pelvis. It is termed a popliteal artery when it travels behind the knee. The anterior and posterior tibial arteries arise from the popliteal artery.

Additional Information:
-The wall of an artery consists of three layers, namely tunica intima, tunica media, and tunica externa.
-The tunica intima is the innermost layer. It is also known as tunica interna.
- Tunica media is the middle layer. It is primarily a smooth muscle and it is the thickest layer. Tunica externa is the outermost layer.

So, the correct answer is ‘Both (b) and (c)’.

Note:
-Tunica intima is a simple squamous epithelium surrounded by a connective tissue basement membrane with elastic fibers.
-Tunica externa is the connective tissue having varying amounts of elastic and collagenous fibers.
-The connective tissue in this layer is quite dense and it is adjacent to the tunic media.