Out to the tissues

The arterial system is an integral part of the vasculature and consists of large and medium-sized arteries and smaller caliber arterioles. The major function of the arterial system is to deliver oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood from the heart to the capillaries of various organs and tissues of the body which is requisite for physiological homeostasis. The development and function of the arterial system is tightly regulated and molecular and cellular defects in the vessel wall or diverse insults trigger pathological behavior of the vascular cells culminating in cardiovascular disorders. In this chapter, we review the composition, hierarchical classification and tissue-specific heterogeneity of the arterial system, and the anatomy of a typical arterial wall and select examples of arterial pathologies.