Anatomy - Hypertension Flashcards
(83 cards)
What are the different things to remember in Darcy’s law of flow?
- Flow = ‘delta’ pressure / resistance
- ‘delta’ p = pressure gradient between arteries and veins, created by heart pumping
- Resistance = measure of degree which blood vessel resists blood flow
- Flow = directly related to pressure difference
- Flow = inversely related to resistance
What is the equation for Poiseuille’s law of flow?

What effects does longer vessel, + viscosity and + radius have on flow?
Lower flow
Lower flow
Greater flow
What does the graph for relative flow against relative radius look like?

What is the resistance equation?
What are the properties of small arteries and arterioles?
- ability to change radius
- pressure change
- Must decrease pressure before capillay entry
How do you calculate total peripheral resistance?
Arterial - venous pressure / cardiac output
What is laminar blood flow?
Largest velocity in the centre of blood vessel
What is the function of arterial compliance?
Provides filtering / smoothing
What is the function of venous compliance?
Provides capacity for storage (reservoir blood), which is reduced by constricting veins
What 4 things is venous return affected by?
- Affected by venomotor tone (constriction)
- Affected by venous valve competence
- Affected by skeletal muscle pump –> leg muscle contraction squeezes blood from superficial vein to deep vein to heart
- Affected by respiration –> inspiration decreases intra-thoracic pressure & increases intra-abdominal pressure hence provides a pressure gradient to assist blood flow to the heart
What are the 3 determinants of blood vessel radius?
- Active tension exerted by smooth muscle
- Passive elastic wall properties
- Blood pressure inside of vessel
What does an increase in vessel radius lead to?
- wall tensions
- Aneurysm
What things does active control of vessel calibre allow?
- Allows redistribution of blood flow
- Allows control of pre/post capillary sphincters
- Allows regulation of vascular tone and control of blood pressure
What is vascular tone?
Degree of constriction / dilatation
What does vasomotor tone refer to?
Arteries and arterioles
What does venomotor tone refer to?
Veins and venules
What factor causes vasoconstriction?
Noradrenaline:
- Released from sympathetic
- Binds to alpha receptors
What factor causes vasodilatation?
Noradrenaline:
- Released by sympathetic
- Binds to beta receptors in skeletal muscle
What effect do certain hormoenes have on smooth muscle vessel contraction?
Catecholamines:
- Noradrenaline / adrenaline
- Constrict / dilate
Peptides:
- Vasopressin, angiotensin = constrict
- Bradykinin = dilate
What intrinsic mechanisms affect vessel contraction/dilatation?
- Endothelium-derived vasorelaxants (PGI2, NO, EDHF)
- Endothelium-derived vasoconstrictors (endothelin)
- Metabolites
- Myogenic (autoregulation of blood-flow)
What effects do certain metabolites have on vessels?

What factors contribute to extrinsic control?
- Nerves
- Hormones
- Regulate arterial bp
How is cerebral blood flow regulated?
- 14% cardiac output at rest
- Neural control = alpha vasoconstriction
- Autoregulation resets during hypertension and abloshed by hypercapnia
- H+, K+, adenosine, hypercapnia, hypoxia = vasodilatation
- Mechanical = constrained in rigid cranium, influenced by VSF pressure
- Medullary ischaemic reflex = special feature








