When blood is delivered to the body's tissues, the ______________ facilitate the exchange of oxygen and nutrients.

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As blood travels throughout the body after leaving the heart, it travels through various arteries. Arteries get smaller, becoming arterioles, as they get closer to the tissues. At the tissues, oxygen and nutrients are exchanged through capillary beds. Capillaries act as transition vessels between the arteries and veins. Capillaries have a more extensive network which allow blood flow to spread out in the tissue, as well as slow blood flow down so there is more time to unload oxygen and pick up CO₂and other metabolic waste. Once the oxygen and nutrients are unloaded to the tissue, the remaining blood enters the venous circulation and travels back to the heart. Smaller veins closer to the capillary beds are called venules, becoming larger veins as they get closer to the heart. The largest vein, the vena cava, dumps blood directly back into the heart at the right atrium. You may use the diagram below as a visual reference for capillaries. 11ec0fda_999f_3e57_a67f_774af33cb373_NR0004_00

When Blood Is Delivered to the Body's Tissues, the ______________