A resistance artery is small diameter

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away ...

in the

microcirculation The microcirculation is the circulation of the blood in the smallest blood vessels, the microvessels of the microvasculature present within organ tissues. The microvessels include terminal arterioles, metarterioles, capillaries, and venules. ...

that contributes significantly to the creation of the resistance to flow and regulation of

blood flow Hemodynamics or haemodynamics are the dynamics of blood flow. The circulatory system is controlled by homeostatic mechanisms of autoregulation, just as hydraulic circuits are controlled by control systems. The hemodynamic response continuously m ...

. Resistance arteries are usually small

arteries An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pu ...

arterioles An arteriole is a small-diameter blood vessel in the microcirculation that extends and branches out from an artery and leads to capillaries. Arterioles have muscular walls (usually only one to two layers of smooth muscle cells) and are the primar ...

and include

precapillary sphincter A precapillary sphincter is a band of contractile mural cells either classified as smooth muscle or pericytes that adjusts blood flow into capillaries. They were originally described in the mesenteric microcirculation, and were thought to only r ...

s. Having thick muscular walls and narrow lumen they contribute the most to the resistance to blood flow. Degree of the contraction of

vascular smooth muscle Vascular smooth muscle is the type of smooth muscle that makes up most of the walls of blood vessels. Structure Vascular smooth muscle refers to the particular type of smooth muscle found within, and composing the majority of the wall of blood ve ...

in the wall of a resistance artery is directly connected to the size of the lumen.

Definition

Functionally from physiological point of view blood vessels can be divided in several categories * Buffer vessels –

aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes o ...

, middle-sized arteries * Resistance vessels – arterioles, pre- and postcapillaries. * Metabolic vessels –

capillaries A capillary is a small blood vessel from 5 to 10 micrometres (μm) in diameter. Capillaries are composed of only the tunica intima, consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. They are the smallest blood vessels in the body: ...

* Capacitance vessels –

veins Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

Particular feature of resistance vessels is ability to change lumen crossectional area and influence blood pressure. Human arteries or arterioles that are around 0.2 mm or smaller contribute to creation of the blood flow resistance and are called resistance arteries.Cardiovascular Physiology By William R. Milnor

Physiology

The small arteries have a task of regulating local blood flow in every part of a body. They do so by adjustments of their diameter. Quick functional changes are accomplished by contraction and relaxation of

smooth muscle cells Smooth muscle is an involuntary non-striated muscle, so-called because it has no sarcomeres and therefore no striations (''bands'' or ''stripes''). It is divided into two subgroups, single-unit and multiunit smooth muscle. Within single-unit mus ...

in the wall of the small arteries.

Pathophysiology

Resistance arteries are the target of a disease in case of stenosis (narrowing of the lumen) or

arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis, which ...

. In both cases, normal functionality of resistance arteries is lost. Chronic changes in diameter result from vascular remodeling - reshaping of the vascular wall, where existing elements are reorganized, new elements are added or elements are broken down. The regulation of arterial diameter and wall structure is a continuous process of adaptation to changing needs, ranging from exercise to development of the body. This adaptation may malfunction: too small a diameter of the resistance vessels relates to insufficient tissue perfusion as well as hypertension. The vascular wall consists of amongst others the vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells that line the lumen, and elastic fibers and other extracellular matrix elements. Physical forces form an important part of the adaptation mechanisms of small arteries: Blood pressure causes distension of the matrix elements, but also induces contraction of the smooth muscle cells and production of more cells and more matrix. Blood flow is sensed by the endothelial cells, which release factors such as nitric oxide that cause relaxation and remodeling towards larger diameters. Forces, cells, and matrix, therefore, form a triangle of mutual effects that underlie vascular adaptation.

References

{{cardiovascular_system Angiology