a vessel in the human or animal body in which blood circulates. The vessels that carry blood away from the heart are called arteries, and their very small branches are arterioles. Very small branches that collect the blood from the various organs and parts are called venules, and they unite to form veins, which return the blood to the heart. Capillaries are minute, thin-walled vessels that connect the arterioles and venules; it is through the capillaries that nutrients and wastes are exchanged between the blood and body tissues. See artery; capillary; vein.
Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.
If you think a reference to this article on "blood vessel" will enhance your Web site,
blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article,
and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.
You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.