Artery under the Microscope

Arteries are blood vessels that deliver oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the tissues of the body. Each artery is a muscular tube lined with smooth tissue that has three layers:

1. The intima is the inner layer lined by a smooth tissue called endothelium.
2. The media is a layer of muscle that lets arteries handle the high pressures from the heart.
3. The adventitia is a connective tissue anchoring arteries to nearby tissue.

The largest artery in the human body is the aorta, the main high-pressure pipeline connected to the heart's left ventricle. The aorta branches into a network of smaller arteries that extend throughout the body. The arteries' smaller branches are referred to as arterioles and capillaries. The pulmonary arteries carry oxygen-poor blood from the heart to the lungs under low pressure, making these arteries unique.

The images below were captured using the Richter Optica RB20D digital microscope with a 5 megapixel microscopy camera.

Microscopy image of artery, vein and nerve c.s. captured with RB20D microscope at 40x.

Microscopy image of artery, vein and nerve c.s. captured with RB20D microscope at 100x.

Microscopy image of artery, vein and nerve c.s. captured with RB20D microscope at 400x.

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