Arteries vs. Veins

You might have heard that obstructed blood vessels are the major causes of heart problems including the common issue of today, “heart attack”. But what actually are the blood vessels? Why do they play such an important role in one’s body and life to effect one’s heart and lead him to fatal diseases, that is, heart diseases? Or maybe you have a general idea of what blood vessels are, but you don’t know the exact distinctions between them, the job they do, how they work and the list of questions in a human mind goes on. Today, I’m going to clear all your ambiguity and answer all your questions regarding the difference between these two blood vessels to help you design and live a more healthy life.

What’s common between veins and arteries

I don’t want to rush this valuable information rather I’ll walk you through the entire concept, so I would prefer describing the similarities of both veins and arteries first. We know that both veins and arteries are the “blood vessels”, and their main purpose is to help the blood flow smoothly and efficiently to and from heart and all parts of the body. Both of them are tube-shaped vessels which is also called “lumen” in biological tongue. Through the tube (lumen), blood circulates and provides oxygen to heart and every part of the body. Arteries as well as veins are found beneath the skin, and that’s the reason, even a minor deep wound or a cut to our skin begins bleeding. Arteries and veins work as a transmission channel of blood from heart to body tissues and vice versa.

How arteries and veins are different

We have seen the similarities of both arteries and veins, now let’s move to the real thing; what’s the difference between them? I would mention the differences in listicle as it’s always better to comprehend and digest the information written in the form of list.

Size: Both the blood vessels vary in sizes. The size of arteries ranges from 0.1 to 10mm in diameter. Generally, larger arteries are elastic, and the smaller ones are muscular. Veins, on the other hand, range from 1mm to as small as 1cm. The smallest of the veins are called venules.

Job: The main distinction between the two vessels is the job they perform. Arteries are built to carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to all the tissues of the body whereas, veins carry deoxygenated blood from different parts of the body to the heart.

Position: There is a slight difference in the position of both vessels as well. An artery is located deeper in the body which means not close enough to the skin while veins lie closer beneath the skin surface.

Structure: Structure and anatomy of these vessels impart a huge significance to their functionality. Arteries are more rigid, elastic and muscular having a thick layer to help transport oxygenated blood with high pressure. Contrary to this, veins are not rigid and are less muscular than arteries with thin elastic walls that contain valves to keep the flow of blood in the right direction, that is, towards the heart.

Carbon dioxide level: The purpose of veins is to carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Deoxygenated blood doesn’t carry oxygen but carbon dioxide. Thus, veins possess higher level of carbon dioxide.

Oxygen level: Since arteries carry oxygenated blood, they have higher concentration of oxygen than veins.

Valves: As mentioned above, arteries do not have valves whereas, veins carry valves that prevent the blood from flowing in the reverse direction. If you’re wondering about what a valve is, it’s a muscular structure carried by a vein which ensures that the vein is working properly and in the right way.

Lumen: Lumen is the internal hollow space of a tubular structure, blood vessel, through which the blood flows. Arteries have smaller lumen than veins. Due to thicker walls and small diameters of arteries, their lumen have a more rounded appearance than venous lumen.

Pressure: The blood in arteries flow under high pressure, and that’s the reason they have thick and rigid walls whereas, in veins, blood flow under low pressure.

Contraction: Arterial muscles contract, and thus their pulse is detectable while venous muscles do not contract, and their pulse cannot be detected.

Color: Arteries are red in color while veins are bluish in color.

Layers: Both arteries and blood vessels have the same three types of layers; Tunica Intima, Tunica Media and Tunica Adventitia. In an artery, Tunica Media is the thickest layer, and Tunica Adventitia is the thickest layer of veins.

Types: I would like to discuss two major concepts before moving onto the types of blood vessels. Circulation in our body is of two types; pulmonary and systematic. Pulmonary circulation is the flow of blood from heart to lungs whereas, systematic circulation is the transportation of blood between different parts of the body and heart.

• Artery
• Pulmonary Arteries: Pulmonary arteries carry blood from right ventricle of heart to lungs for its oxygenation.
• Systematic Arteries: The rest of the arteries that carry oxygenated blood from lungs to different parts of the body fall under this category.
• Vein
• Superficial Veins: Superficial veins as the name suggests are located close to the surface of skin and are not linked to an artery unlike deep veins.
• Deep Veins: Unlike superficial veins, deep veins are located deep beneath the skin paired with an artery.
• Pulmonary Veins: These veins transport the oxygenated blood back from lungs to the heart.
• Systematic Veins: The one of a number of veins that drains deoxygenated blood from body tissues to the right atrium of heart.

How to get heathy blood vessels

We have learnt the differences, but how can we achieve healthy blood vessels and prevent diseases? Here are a few quick tips by some well-known doctors:

• Eat smart – Include colorful fruits and green veggies in your daily diet. Intake olive, coconut or sunflower and nuts and reduce the intake of refined sugars.
• Exercise – Exercise regularly, break a good sweat. It accelerates your blood circulation.
• Calmness – Use yoga, breathing or aerobics to help relieve negativity and stress to maintain your cardiovascular health.