Re: Why is it much worse to cut open an artery rather than a vein?

Dear Rachel,

Hi! There is a simple answer to your question about arteries vs. veins. Arteries transport oxygenated blood directly from the heart to capillaries; veins retrieve blood from the capillaries and send it back to the heart. Hence, the blood pressure in arteries is much greater than in veins. When an artery is severed, blood spurts from it at high pressure and so blood loss can be rapid and great; when a vein is cut, blood oozes from it more slowly and has more time to clot. So arterial blood loss is more severe and serious. For more information, see a text of physiology like Review of Medical Physiology by WF Ganong.