A muscular artery (or distributing artery) is a medium-sized
artery
An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pu ...
that draws blood from an
elastic artery and branches into "resistance vessels" including small arteries and
arterioles. Their walls contain larger number of smooth muscles, allowing them to contract and expand depending on peripheral blood demand.
This contrasts to the mechanism of elastic arteries, which use their elastic properties to store the energy generated by the heart's contraction for a brief moment (elastic recoil).
Under the microscope, muscular arteries can be identified by their clearly defined
internal elastic lamina. In constricted vessels, the elastic lamina of muscular arteries appears thick and kinky. The elastic lamina is best visualized using
Verhoeff's stain, but can be easily detected in specimens stained using other techniques as a well-defined negative staining region.
Examples of muscular arteries include the
radial artery
In human anatomy, the radial artery is the main artery of the lateral aspect of the forearm.
Structure
The radial artery arises from the bifurcation of the brachial artery in the antecubital fossa. It runs distally on the anterior part of th ...
,
femoral artery
The femoral artery is a large artery in the thigh and the main arterial supply to the thigh and leg. The femoral artery gives off the deep femoral artery or profunda femoris artery and descends along the anteromedial part of the thigh in the f ...
and the
splenic artery.
Muscular arteries, along with elastic arteries, are common sites for atherosclerosis.
References
*Norrander, J.M., Kirkpatrick C., Bauer, G.E., Porter, M.E., Marker, P.C., Linck, R.W., et al. (2008). '' Human Histology 2008.'' University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Human Histology (GCD 6103/8103) Fall 2008 Course Packet.
Arteries
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