Pretty much everyone knows arteries and veins are different.\u00a0 However, we’ll focus on their similarities first:<\/p>\n
1)\u00a0 They both contain a reinforcing layer of smooth muscle.<\/p>\n
2)\u00a0 For both veins and arteries, the central opening which conducts the blood is called the lumen<\/em>.<\/p>\n Now\u00a0the differences between them:<\/p>\n 1)\u00a0 Arteries carry blood away from the heart, whereas veins conduct blood back to the heart.<\/p>\n 2)\u00a0 Arteries carry blood under pressure, whereas the blood pressure in veins is minimal.<\/p>\n 3)\u00a0 Arteries have thicker walls than veins.\u00a0 The reason:\u00a0\u00a0since the blood in arteries is under pressure, the reinforcing layer of muscle in an artery is much thicker than in a vein.<\/p>\n 4) Veins have valves, whereas arteries don’t.\u00a0 Veins need the valves to prevent backflow; remember, the blood in them is under minimal pressure.<\/p>\n 5)\u00a0 Arteries are, for the most part, buried\u00a0deep in the body, while veins are commonly visible through the skin.\u00a0 (The wrist, where you take your pulse, is an exception: at that location an artery is close to the surface.)<\/p>\n Although some\u00a0of the facts above are\u00a0familiar, there might be a few surprises:)<\/p>\n Sources:<\/p>\n Biology 12,<\/em> Module 3:\u00a0 Human\u00a0Biology I.<\/em>\u00a0 2007:\u00a0 Open School BC.<\/p>\n Inquiry Into Life<\/em>, Eleventh Edition,\u00a0Sylvia S. Mader.\u00a0 2006:\u00a0 McGraw-Hill.<\/p>\n