International A Level Biology / Mammalian transport systems

How atherosclerosis develops

Edexcel International A Level Biology (YBI11), chapter 2: Mammalian transport systems, specification point 1.10. Part of the full course.

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Atherosclerosis develops when damage to an artery lining leads to plaque build-up and a narrower, less elastic artery. The changes can reinforce one another, and a plaque in a coronary artery can reduce the oxygen supply to heart muscle.

More lessons in Mammalian transport systems

• Why many animals need a heart and circulation
• Blood and haemoglobin: carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide
• The oxygen dissociation curve
• The Bohr effect and fetal haemoglobin
• Arteries, veins and capillaries
• The structure of the mammalian heart
• The cardiac cycle and the pressure graph
• Dissecting a mammalian heart
• Blood clotting and its role in CVD