BIOMECHANICS OF HIJAMAH-THE CAPILLARY BED

What Is a Capillary?

A capillary is an extremely small blood vessel located within the tissues of the body, that transports blood from arteries to veins. Capillaries are most abundant in tissues and organs that are metabolically active. For example, muscle tissues and the kidneys have a greater amount of capillary networks than do connective tissues.

Capillary Size

Capillaries are so small that red blood cells can only travel through them in single file.

Capillaries measure in size from about 5-10 microns in diameter. Capillary walls are thin and are composed of endothelium (a type of simple squamous epithelial tissue). Oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients and wastes are exchanged through the thin walls of the capillaries.

Capillary Microcirculation

Capillaries play an important role in microcirculation. Microcirculation deals with the circulation of blood from the heart to arteries, to smaller arterioles, to capillaries, to venules, to veins and back to the heart.

The flow of blood in the capillaries is controlled by structures called precapillary sphincters. These structures are located between arterioles and capillaries and contain muscle fibers that allow them to contract. When the sphincters are open, blood flows freely to the capillary beds of body tissue. When the sphincters are closed, blood is not allowed to flow through the capillary beds. Fluid exchange between the capillaries and the body tissues takes place at the capillary bed.

Capillary Beds

Your body contains miles of arteries and arterioles, yet these structures are nothing more than the vascular highways that provide a pathway for your blood. It's only when your blood reaches the tiny capillaries that nutrients and wastes can be exchanged. Capillaries are microscopic blood vessels that connect the arterioles with the venules.

Capillaries are grouped together in capillary beds, which are simply a network of capillaries. Capillary beds are too small to see, but if you could see them, they would look like endless alleyways leading to virtually every tissue in your body. The rate of blood flow within a capillary bed is slow because there are so many different alleyways through which blood can travel. This slow speed limit, along with the very thin walls of the capillaries, means that capillary beds are an ideal place for the exchange of gases, nutrients, hormones and wastes between the blood and tissue cells.

This is why it is important that incisions for hijamah are not deeper than 1mm,,,so to exhume this blood stasis and other waste matter,

If incisions are deeper than venous blood will also be removed,,causing the patient to feel weaker  rather than yielding any beneficial results.