The three kinds of blood vessels found in human beings are Arteries, Veins and Capillaries.
Below diagram shows the differences between Artery, Vein and Capillaries:
| Arteries | Veins | Capillaries |
|---|---|---|
| An artery is a vessel which carries the blood away from the heart to other parts of the body. | A vein is a vessel which carries the blood from an organ towards the heart. | Capillaries are the terminal branches of an artery, which rejoin to form a vein. |
| An artery has thick, elastic and more muscular walls. | A vein has thin and less muscular walls with valves. | Walls of the capillary are made up of single layer of cells (endothelium) with no muscles. |
| The blood in it flows with jerk and under great force. | The valves prevent the back flow of the blood flowing towards the heart. | The wall of capillary is very thin, to enable an exchange of nutrients waste products and gases between the blood and the body fluids. |