Arteries and veins are two of the body’s main type of blood vessels through which blood flow in the body. The arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart while the veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissue capillaries back towards the heart.
Image Source: West Florida Vein Center and Wapcaplet, Yaddah.
Here are some of the differences:
| S.N. | Character | Arteries | Veins |
| 1. | Definition | Blood vessels transport blood away from the heart. | Blood vessels transport blood to the heart for oxygenation. |
| 2. | Color | Arteries look Red. | Veins look Blue (But they aren’t actually blue, blue lights are just reflected in our eyes). |
| 3. | Position | Usually positioned deeper within the body. | Usually positioned closer to or beneath the surface of the skin. |
| 4. | Transport/Carry | Oxygenated blood except for the pulmonary artery. | Deoxygenated blood except for pulmonary vein in adult circulation and umbilical vein in fetal circulation. |
| 5. | Oxygen level | Oxygen levels are quite high in arterial blood. | The oxygen level is low comparatively. |
| 6. | Carbon-dioxide level | The CO2 level is low in arterial blood. | The CO2 level is high in venous blood. |
| 7. | Volume of blood | Low (About 15%) | High (About 65%) |
| 8. | Structure | 3 layers of tissue: Outer coat (Tunica adventitia)The middle coat (Tunica media)The inner coat(Tunica intima) | Also, possess the same 3 layers but are all much thinner. |
| 9. | Tunica adventitia | Less developed. | More developed. |
| 10. | Tunica media | More muscular. | Less muscular. |
| 11. | Tunica intima | Endothelial cells are more elongated. | Endothelial cells are less elongated. |
| 12. | Thickest layer | Tunica media | Tunica adventitia |
| 13. | Walls | Much stronger and rigid than veins. | Less strong or collapsible walls. |
| 14. | Muscularity | More | Less |
| 15. | Flexibility | Highly flexible | Not very flexible |
| 16. | Lumen | Much narrower lumen | Comparatively wide |
| 17. | Blood pressure | Higher in arteries | Lower in veins |
| 18. | Movement of blood | Spurty movement | Sluggish movement |
| 19. | Pulse (wrist) | Detectable (radial artery) | Not detectable. |
| 20. | Valves | Absent (except for semi-lunar valves). | Contain valves to help keep blood flowing in the right direction. |
| 21. | Pathway of blood flow | Very distinct | Sometimes indistinguishable because of many interconnections |
| 22. | Collapsing of vessel | Would generally remain open if blood flow stopped, due to their thick muscular layer. | Would collapse if blood flow stops. |
| 23. | Injury to the Blood Vessel | Squirting blood | Pooling of blood |
| 24. | Contraction of muscle | Present | Absent |
| 25. | At the time of death | Arteries empty up at the time of death. | Veins get filled up at the time of death. |
| 26. | Types | Pulmonary arteries Systemic arteries | Deep veins Superficial veins Pulmonary veinsSystemic veins |
| 27. | Associated Diseases | Atherosclerosis, Angina Pectoris, Artherogenesis- myocardial ischemia. | Deep vein thrombosis, varicose veins. |
References
- Tuitui, R., & Suwal, D. S. (2010). Human Anatomy and Physiology. Kathmandu: Vidyarthi Prakashan.
- https://www.healthline.com/health/artery-vs-vein#takeaway
- https://www.sharecare.com/health/circulatory-system-health/what-difference-between-an-artery-and-a-vein
- https://www.diffen.com/difference/Arteries_vs_Veins
- http://www.microbiologynotes.com/differences-between-artery-and-vein/
- https://microbiologyinfo.com/difference-between-arteries-and-veins/
- https://www.bioexplorer.net/differences-between-arteries-and-veins.html/
By oxygen level, arteries are quite high in blood arterial, when veins is low comparatively.
Q and answer
Veins are thinner walled than arteries and have less elastic tissue, and much, much less smooth muscle tissue. Instead, veins make use of valves and the muscle contraction of your body’s major skeletal muscles to squeeze blood along. This is the reason you’re asked to get up and walk around on a long plane flight–to prevent blood from pooling in your legs.
I checked the difference of arteries and veins which is given in box in which arteries -red blood vessels
Veins-blue blood vessels
Which I feel is misleading as there is no color difference
Thanks for the suggestion. I changed the words which were misleading. It may be different from how it is and how it looks. So, I mentioned Arteries look Red while Veins look Blue.
Amm right
Arteries have bright reddish appearance while veins have dark reddish appearance
19th-What is that when we check our pulse of hands or measure blood pressure?
When we check the pulse of our hands.