Editing Artery (section)

== History ==
{{Further|Circulatory system#History}}
Among the [[Ancient Greeks]] before [[Hippocrates]], all blood vessels were called Φλέβες, ''phlebes''. The word ''arteria'' then referred to the [[windpipe]].<ref>The heart and the vascular system in ancient Greek medicine. From Alcmaeon to Galen. Oxford University Press 1973, special edition for Sandpiper Books 2001. ISBN 0-19-858135-1 p.24</ref> [[Herophilos]] was the first to describe anatomical differences between the two types of blood vessel. While [[Empedocles]] believed that the blood moved to and fro through the blood vessels, there was no concept of the [[capillary]] vessels that join arteries and veins, and there was no notion of circulation.<ref>The heart and the vascular system in ancient Greek medicine. From Alcmaeon to Galen. Oxford University Press 1973, special edition for Sandpiper Books 2001. ISBN 0-19-858135-1 p.18</ref> [[Diogenes of Apollonia]] developed the theory of ''pneuma'', originally meaning just air but soon identified with the [[soul]] itself, and thought to co-exist with the blood in the blood vessels.<ref>The heart and the vascular system in ancient Greek medicine. From Alcmaeon to Galen. Oxford University Press 1973, special edition for Sandpiper Books 2001. ISBN 0-19-858135-1 p.26</ref> The arteries were thought to be responsible for the transport of air to the tissues and to be connected to the [[trachea]]. This was as a result of finding the arteries of cadavers devoid of blood. 

In medieval times, it was supposed that arteries carried a fluid, called "spiritual blood" or "vital spirits", considered to be different from the contents of the [[vein]]s. This theory went back to [[Galen]]. In the late medieval period, the [[Vertebrate trachea|trachea]],<ref>Oxford English Dictionary.</ref> and [[ligaments]] were also called "arteries".<ref>Shakespeare, William. Hamlet Complete, Authoritative Text with Biographical and Historical Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Five Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1994. pg. 50.</ref>

[[William Harvey]] described and popularized the modern concept of the circulatory system and the roles of arteries and veins in the 17th century. 

[[Alexis Carrel]] at the beginning of the 20th century first described the technique for vascular suturing and anastomosis and successfully performed many [[organ transplantation]]s in animals; he thus actually opened the way to modern [[vascular surgery]] that was previously limited to vessels' permanent ligation.