© 1999 Robert A. Freitas Jr. All Rights Reserved.

Robert A. Freitas Jr., Nanomedicine, Volume I: Basic Capabilities, Landes Bioscience, Georgetown, TX, 1999

8.2.1 Navigational Vasculography

Medical nanorobots may access the interior of the human body principally via the blood-carrying vasculature, representing ~5.4 liters or ~9% of total body volume. The blood vessels are of three types, each characterized by functional and structural differences. First, there is the high-pressure distributing system, made up of the arteries and smaller branches called arterioles, which convey oxygenated blood from the heart to all regions of the body (Section 8.2.1.1). Second, there is a network of minute vessels, called capillaries, through which biologically important materials are exchanged between blood and tissues (Section 8.2.1.2). Third, there is a low-pressure collecting system made up of veins and smaller branches called venules, which return the blood to the heart (Section 8.2.1.1). The lymphatic system, an additional 3.3 liters of very low-pressure vasculature (Section 8.2.1.3), returns cell-filtered plasma to the main circulatory system.

Last updated on 19 February 2003