Smallest cardiac veins contribute to normal physiologic shunting of blood. As a consequence of the input of these vessels, blood in the left heart is less oxygenated than the blood found at the pulmonary capillary beds, albeit to a very small degree. The "openings of smallest cardiac veins" are located in the endocardium. Here the smallest cardiac veins return blood into the heart chambers from the capillary bed in the muscular cardiac wall, enabling a form of collateral circulation unique to the heart. Not every endocardial opening connects to the thebesian veins as some connect to the vessels of Wearn, which are arteries.
Helicine arteries of penis in increased levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). cGMP in turn triggers relaxation of the smooth muscle and results in dilation of blood vessels. This signal is terminated when cGMP is broken down by the enzyme cGMP specific phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5), the enzyme that is targeted by sildenafil and other drugs that treat erectile dysfunction. By preventing PDE5 from breaking down cGMP, the effects of NO are amplified and vasodilation occurs, thus resulting in increased penile erection. Helicine arteries of penis The helicine arteries of penis are arteries in the penis. They are found in the corpora cavernosa penis.