01 / Location & anatomical relationships
In branching networks leading away from the heart.
02 / Structure & organization
Most arterial walls have intima, media and adventitia. Elastic arteries buffer pulsatile output, while muscular arteries distribute blood and arterioles regulate resistance. Smooth-muscle tone changes vessel caliber and tissue perfusion.
03 / Function
Their strong walls handle the pressure created by the heartbeat.
04 / Mechanism
Stretchy, muscular walls handle pulses of pressure and help control blood distribution. Larger arteries divide into smaller ones before reaching capillaries. Most carry oxygen-rich blood, but arteries going to the lungs carry oxygen-poor blood.
Working together: circulatory system
Your heart pumps blood to your lungs to collect oxygen. Blood then delivers oxygen to body cells and carries carbon dioxide back to your lungs.
Meet this body system →FOR DEEPER STUDY
Connect structure with function
Arteries are defined by flow away from the heart, not oxygen content. Pulmonary arteries carry relatively oxygen-poor blood toward the lungs.
Check your understanding
Locate the artery in relation to its neighbors. Explain how the structural features described above support its function, then distinguish it from a nearby structure with a different role.
Keep learning
Further reading: NHLBI: How the Heart Works.
Continue with OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology for system-level study. This atlas is educational and has not undergone independent medical peer review.