What are small terminal twigs of an artery that end in capillaries called?

The correct answer is that the small terminal twigs of an artery that end in capillaries are called arterioles. Arterioles are the smallest branches of arteries and serve as important regulators of blood flow and pressure. They are crucial in controlling the distribution of blood to various tissues throughout the body.

Arterioles lead directly into capillaries, which are the sites of exchange for oxygen, nutrients, and waste products between blood and tissues. This structural position allows arterioles to effectively regulate blood flow and help maintain homeostasis by adjusting resistance to blood flow as needed.

In contrast, veins are responsible for carrying blood back to the heart, while capillaries are the smallest blood vessels facilitating exchange, and venules are the small vessels that collect blood from capillaries and channel it into veins. Understanding the hierarchy of blood vessels helps clarify the essential roles each type of vessel plays in the circulatory system.