Arteries, Arterioles & Veins
- Arteries, veins and capillaries all have varying structural features
Blood vessels structure & function table
Worked example: Blood vessel features
The correct answer is B.
This is because elastic arteries do not contain many smooth muscle fibres and are not able to perform vasoconstriction or vasodilation. In contrast, muscular arteries contain much more smooth muscle. Veins have large amounts of collagen for strength and keeping their shape, while capillaries are only one-cell thick and so do not contain any elastic, smooth muscle or collagen.
Exam Tip
For “Explain” questions, remember to pair a description of a structural feature to an explanation of how it helps the blood vessel to function. For example, “Capillaries are one-cell thick, which enables quick and efficient diffusion of substances.”
