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Capillaries: Small, thin-walled blood vessels that allow oxygen to diffuse from the blood into the cells and carbon dioxide to diffuse from the cells into the blood.

Circulatory System: One of eleven major body organ systems in animals; transports oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and waste products between cells and the respiratory system and carries chemical signals from . . . View Full Definition

Capillary: The smallest blood vessels in the body: the skin is rife with capillaries

Capillary Array: Gel-filled silica capillaries used to separate fragments for dna sequencing. The small diameter of the capillaries permit the application of higher electric fields, providing high speed, hig . . . View Full Definition

Rete Mirabile: A countercurrent exchange structure of capillaries that allows gas uptake in a fish swim bladder

Bohr Effect: When blood ph decreases, the ability of hemoglobin to bind to oxygen decreases. An adaptation to release oxygen in the oxygen starved tissues in capillaries where respiratory carbon dioxide . . . View Full Definition

Glomerulus: A tangle of capillaries that makes up part of the nephron; the site of filtration.

Interstitial Fluid: Fluid surrounding the cells in body tissues; provides a path through which nutrients, gases, and wastes can travel between the capillaries and the cells.

Portal System: An arrangement in which capillaries drain into a vein that opens into another capillary network.

Venules: The smallest veins. Blood fiows into them from the capillary beds. Small veins that connect a vein with capillaries.