Arteries possess strong walls made of layers of smooth muscle oriented circumferentially.

You will learn about recognizing smooth muscle soon. For now, notice how thick the arterial walls are.

This is a bit of fatty tissue, with three branches of an artery cut in cross section. One branch has a little lymphatic running with it.

With your study partners, find:

• the three branches of the artery


• the little lymphatic


To see the little lymphatic, look for a tissue space next to the artery that looks to be lined with endothelium. Often the identification of a lymphatic vessel is only tentative -- as it is here.
• the lumens of each of these vessels

Hotshots:

Can you imagine the actual three-dimensional structure?

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Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences