How PTEN May Play A Role In Vascular Disease Pathogenesis Blood Vessels & Smooth Muscle Cells Vessels are the pipeline for transporting blood throughout the body. Blood, in turn, carries oxygen, nutrients, water, and other chemicals to tissues and organs throughout the body. The blood vessel is comprised of three main layers, the tunica intima, the tunica media, and the tunica adventitia. All three layers play a unique role in both physiological homeostasis and in pathological conditions. In this post, we will briefly focus on the role that the key constituents of the tunica media layer, the smooth muscle cells