2. Two capillary beds in series & 3. Pressure drives flow

Most blood leaving the heart travels through _ capillary bed before returning to the heart, but some pathways place two capillary beds in series. What is the exception and what capillaries does it pass through?

one, the hepatic portal vein passes blood through a capillary in the digestive tract and another capillary in the liver

Blood flows because _.

there is a pressure difference between two locations

Absolute pressure at both ends can be _, but if the pressures are equal what happens?

high, there is no net driving force and therefore no net flow

Where is pressure the highest?

near the heart, where the left ventricle has just pumped blood into the aorta

What is the relevant driving force?

the pressure difference between the beginning and end of a vascular segment, not just a point

The heart creates the _. Vessel walls then _.

pressure gradient, regulate resistance and redistribute flow among organs

Mean arterial pressure near the heart was used as an example of _. The unit

describes the _.

pressure in millimeters of mercury, pressure produced by a column of mercury of a particular height