Blood air to all of the cells of the body, and venous blood carries carbon dioxide, a waste product of metabolism by cells, to the lungs to be exhaled. However, one exception includes pulmonary arteries, which contain the most deoxygenated blood in the body, while the pulmonary veins contain oxygenated blood. Additional return flow may be generated by the movement of skeletal muscles, which can compress veins and push blood through the valves in veins toward the right atrium. The blood circulation was famously described by William Harvey in 1628. In vertebrates, the various cells of blood are made in the
Vein directly connect two capillary beds. Examples of such systems include the hepatic portal vein and hypophyseal portal system. The peripheral veins carry blood from the limbs and hands and feet. Microscopically, veins have a thick outer layer made of connective tissue, called the tunica externa or "tunica adventitia". There is a middle layer of bands of smooth muscle called tunica media, which are, in general, much thinner than those of arteries, as veins do not function primarily in a contractile manner and are not subject to the high pressures of systole, as arteries are. The interior is lined with endothelial