Introduction to the circulatory system Flashcards
What is the purpose of the cardiovascular system?
fluid transportation system
What is being transported
Red blood cells: O2 and CO2 to and from the lungs, white blood cells and antibodies to sites of infection, nutrients to the liver to cells throughout the body, hormones for endocrine organs to target
Aorta –> arteries and arterioles
thick walled, more muscular, smaller diameter, high pressure
Vena cava –> veins
Thin walled, collapse easily, large diameter, low pressure
Macrovessels
aorta, artery, vein, vena cava, arteriole
Microcirculatio
terminal arteriole, capillary, venule, holds more than half of our blood volume
Arterial vessels and large veins
have elastic tissue, have smooth muscle, have fibrous tissue (help keep shape)
Capillaries and venules
do not have elastic tissue (do not stretch), do not have smooth muscle (do not contract), do not have fibrous tissue (collapse and close)
Small arteries (SA) and arterioles (ART) are
resistance vessels
Resistance
= deltaP/Flow –> mmHg/L/min
Conservation of Mass
Flow = velocity * area = V * A + ~5 L/min
Blood pumps
from the left ventricle into the aorta to the large artery, small artery, arteriole, capillaries, venule, vein, vena cava and then the right atria
Large arteries
fast flow with little pressure drop, high pressure conduits
Small arteries and arterioles
large pressure drop - control flow, resistance vessels
capillaries
diffusion - exchange
venules and small veins
capacitance - hold a large volume at low pressure, low pressure capacitance/volume
large veins
low resistance conduits back to the heart
Baroreceptor reflex system
controls blood pressure
Poiseuille’s law
F = P1-P2/R, flow is proportional to the pressure/voltage gradient, flow is inversely proportional to the resistance
R (resistance to flow) =
8etaL/pir^4
The only parameter we can change is
radius
The dominant contributors to flow resistance are
small vessels
Small amounts of this can have dramatic effects
arterial occlusion
Flow regulation is accomplished by
vasodilation and vasoconstriction in the arterioles