Lesson 27: Topic 23 - Veins Flashcards
(51 cards)
what part of the vascular system has the lowest pressure?
veins
what is the largest pressure that occurs in a vein?
17 mmHg
when does a veins pressure get to 0mmHg?
never. we have to have a pressure gradient to continue to move blood flow through our veins
why do veins not need to be very strong?
because the pressure is very low (so they do not need to sustain high pressure)
how much of blood volume is in veins?
60%
does veins have a small or large diameter?
large
why does blood “pool” in the veins?
because there is a large diameter in veins so a lot of blood can kind of sit in the veins
does veins go with or against gravity?
against
does veins have a large amount of smooth muscle?
no, they have very little smooth muscle
is there a myogenic response in the smooth muscle of the vein?
no
- if it is stretched out, it is not going to contract and resist like in the other parts of the vascular system like flow autoregulation in the arterioles
what is the purpose of the valves in the veins?
they prevent backflow
- because there is such low pressures in the vein, we need valves to maintain blood flow moving in the correct direction
how does the vein move blood against gravity?
while there are valves, we need blood to propel upward. this is done by muscle (skeletal)
what happens if we do not have muscle pump effect of our skeletal muscle with the veins?
we can get deep vein thrombosis
why can we get deep vein thrombosis if we do not have the muscle pump effect?
if our muscle is not contracting to propel the blood upwards, blood can pool in the veins and sit there and if the blood is not moving around, that can promote blood clot formation which then can dislodge to form an embolus which is then referred to as thrombosis
what is an embolus?
a moving blood clot
- problematic because it can move towards the brain or heart which can cause heart attack or stroke
deep vein thrombosis happens to how many people?
approximately 1 in 300 people
why are veins able to stretch and be compliant? (more than arteries)
because they are very thin, have a large diameter and they have a weak structure and do not have much smooth muscle
- + they have minimal matrix proteins (poor recoil with low elastin - so they stretch out and stay stretched out)
what is it called when an artery recoils?
the windkessel effect
what is compliance?
describes how well a blood vessel can stretch when pressure increases
what is more compliant, veins or arteries?
veins
what is the equation for compliance?
calculated by volume change / pressure change
true or false: both the veins and arteries can be activated by the sympathetic nervous system
true
the release of norepinephrine causes what in arteries and veins?
vasoconstriction and venoconstriction
- causes the walls to be a bit stiffer which will reduce compliance
blood flow is equal to?
a pressure gradient / resistance
= (P1 - P2) / R
- P1 = peripheral vein
- P2 - right atrium
- if we have a higher number of P1 than P2, that means we are going to have a higher blood flow