Week 4 Flashcards
Vascular structure of viens
- Lowest pressures
- thin muscled walls
- highly distensible
Vascular structure of arteries
- Highest pressures
- Strong muscular walls
- low flow resistance
Vascular structure of microcirculation
- Arterioles are main site of vascular resistance
- Capillaries and venules are sites of exchange
calculating vascular compliance
change in volume over change in pressure
Vascular compliance in the veins
- Highly compliant
- Small changes in pressure cause large changes in volume
Vascular compliance in arteries
- less compliant than veins
- still respond to increase in pressure with slight increases in volume
Aortic Complience
- High systolic pressure expands the volume of the aorta
- stretching stores potential energy
- aortic walls recoil during diastole, squeezing the blood and helping maintain aortic pressure and blood flow
Aortic Pulse Pressure
- Systolic pressure usually similar to that in left ventricle
- Pulse pressure= SP - DP
- Pulse pressure magnitude determined by stroke volume and arterial compliance (PP proportional to SV/Compliance)
Why is a dicrotic notch observed in pulse pressure
Closure of the aortic valve prevents any possible back flow
Aortic Valve Stenosis definition and effect
- A condition in which the diameter of the aortic valve opening is reduced, which reduces flow into aorta
- Increased resistance = decreased SV = decreased pressure
- Smaller systolic pulse pressure
Aortic Regurgitation definition and effect on pulse pressure
- the aortic valve does not close completely and blood flows back into the ventricle in late systole and diastole
- decrease pressure in diastole due to faster decrease in blood volume
Transmission of pressure pulse through the arteries
- Pressure (and flow) oscillations are transmitted along the arteries
- The pressure decreases progressively in smaller arteries due to VESSEL COMPLIANCE and VASCULAR RESISTANCE
Arterial wall tension
- Def: Force needed to resist the outward push of hydrostatic pressure
- Calculation: T(tension) = Transmural pressure (r/h(wall thickness))
- Vessels with larger radius and/or higher pressures have stronger walls with more smooth muscle and are reinforced with fibrous bands of collagen
- high transmural pressure and radius leads to significant wall tension
Transmural pressure
Internal (intravascular) pressure - External (tissue) pressure
Effect of chronic increase in blood pressure on wall thickness
Causes remodeling increasing vessel wall thickness and reducing radius
Purpose of high compliance in venous system
- Helps keep the pressure in the venous system low
- can accommodate large changes in blood volume with only small changes in pressure
- Acts as a blood reservoir ( volume can be controlled via changes in vascular tone, shifting blood to/from other parts of the circulation)
Venous blood reservoir
Blood in reservoir can be redistributed to perfuse more/fewer capillary beds as necessary
Central Venous pressure
- Diastolic pressure in the right atrium
- normally very low (0 mmHg) but can vary with changes in EDV
- increases in pressure stimulate heart pumping via intrinsic mechanisms (Frank-starling)
- increases in atrial pressure can reduce atrial filling leading to back up because of a decrease in pressure gradient
Gravity and the venous system
- Hydrostatic pressure is affected by gravity and increases with fluid height
- Gravity tends to increase venous pressure in the lower extremities)
Venous Valves
- assure blood only flows back toward the heart
- helps control pressure increases due to gravity
Venous muscle pump
Muscle contraction squeezes the veins and thus pushes blood out of that section of vein back toward the heart
Functions of microcirulation
Transport nutrients to the tissues and remove cell waste
Muscle of Arterioles
Arterioles are highly macular and control blood flow based on signals from local tissuee
Capillaries
think-walled vessels where most blood-tissue exchange happens
- most cells are generally within 50um of a capillary