vessel

(noun)

A tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant.

Related Terms

Examples of vessel in the following topics:

  • Blood Flow

    • Blood flow is the continuous running of blood through the cardiovascular system, which consists of the vessels and the heart.
    • Blood flow is the continuous running of blood through vessels in the cardiovascular system (the mammalian cardiovascular system is shown in ).
    • The cardiovascular system, which consists of blood vessels and the heart, helps to distribute nutrients, O2, and other products of metabolism.
    • The blood moves in the blood vessels, while the heart serves as the pump for the blood.
    • The vessel walls of the heart are elastic and movable, therefore causing the blood and the wall to exert forces on each other and in turn influencing their respective motion.

  • NMR and MRIs

    • MRI contrast agents may be injected intravenously to enhance the appearance of blood vessels, tumors or inflammation.

  • Pressure in the Body

    • One particularly common and dangerous circulatory system condition is partial blockage of blood vessels due to a number of factors, such as plaque build-up from high cholesterol, which results in a reduction of the effective blood vessel cross-sectional diameter and a corresponding reduction in blood flow rate and thus an increase in blood pressure to restore normal blood flow according to Poiseuille's Law.

  • Turbulence Explained

    • Flow is laminar in the large part of this blood vessel and turbulent in the part narrowed by plaque, where velocity is high.

  • Flotation

    • The same is true for vessels in air (as air is a fluid): A dirigible that weighs 100 tons displaces at least 100 tons of air; if it displaces more, it rises; if it displaces less, it falls.

  • Biological and Medical Applications

    • The heart, vessels and lungs are all actively involved in maintaining healthy cells and organs, and all influence the fluid dynamics of the blood.

  • Thermal Stresses

    • (Pyrex® is less susceptible because of its small coefficient of thermal expansion. ) Nuclear reactor pressure vessels are threatened by overly rapid cooling, and although none have failed, several have been cooled faster than considered desirable.

  • Specific Heat for an Ideal Gas at Constant Pressure and Volume

    • That is, small temperature changes typically require large pressures to maintain a liquid or solid at constant volume (this implies the containing vessel must be nearly rigid or at least very strong).