Volcanoes produce a wide variety of natural hazards that can kill people and destroy property. This simplified sketch shows a volcano typical of those found in the Western United States and Alaska, but many of these hazards also pose risks at other volcanoes, such as those in Hawaii. Some hazards, such as lahars and landslides, can occur even when a volcano is not erupting.
A sphincter is a ring of muscle which holds any kind of biological opening closed. Sphincters are an important part of almost any system in a body. They help to both regulate the exit, entrance and circulation of fluids, gasses, and solids.
A precapillary sphincter is a band of smooth muscle that adjusts blood flow into capillaries mainly in the mesenteric microcirculation. At the point where each of the capillaries originates from an arteriole, a smooth muscle fiber encircles the capillary. This is called the precapillary sphincter.The sphincter can open and close the entrance to the capillary, by which contraction causes blood flow in a capillary to change as vasomotion occurs.he entire capillary bed may be bypassed by blood flow through arteriovenous anastomoses or through preferential flow through metarterioles. If the sphincter is damaged or cannot contract, blood can flow into the capillary bed at high pressures.