Which blood vessels have the thinnest walls, facilitating exchange with tissues?

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Multiple Choice

Which blood vessels have the thinnest walls, facilitating exchange with tissues?

Capillaries have the thinnest walls—the endothelium forms a single-cell-thick barrier with a very thin basement membrane. This minimal barrier shortens the diffusion distance, enabling rapid exchange of gases, nutrients, and wastes between blood and surrounding tissues. Arteries have thick, muscular walls to withstand high pressure, so they aren’t the thinnest. Veins and venules have thinner walls than arteries but are still thicker than capillaries, and while they participate in exchange to some extent, the capillary network is where the bulk of tissue exchange occurs.

Capillaries have the thinnest walls—the endothelium forms a single-cell-thick barrier with a very thin basement membrane. This minimal barrier shortens the diffusion distance, enabling rapid exchange of gases, nutrients, and wastes between blood and surrounding tissues. Arteries have thick, muscular walls to withstand high pressure, so they aren’t the thinnest. Veins and venules have thinner walls than arteries but are still thicker than capillaries, and while they participate in exchange to some extent, the capillary network is where the bulk of tissue exchange occurs.

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