1.1 Cardiovascular disease Flashcards
What is positive feedback?
The enhancing or amplification of an effect by its own influence on the process which gives rise to it.
What is atherosclerosis?
The disease process that leads to coronary heart disease and strokes where fatty deposits can block and artery or increase the chances of a blood clot.
What is thrombosis?
An artery being blocked by a blood clot.
What are the first two processes in atherosclerosis?
1 - The endothelium becomes damaged
2 - Inflammatory response: white blood cells move into the artery wall and accumulate chemicals from the blood, particularly cholesterol. An atheroma builds up.
What are the last two processes in atherosclerosis?
3 - Calcium salts and fibrous tissue build up, resulting in a hard swelling called a plaque.
4 - Plaques cause the lumen to narrow and causes high blood pressure.
What is an atheroma?
A fatty deposits that build up in atherosclerosis.
What happens first when a blood vessel is damaged?
Platelets come into contact with the damaged vessel wall and change shape into spheres with long thin projections. This sticks them to the exposed collagen and each other to form a temporary platelet plug.
What are the first two processes in the clotting cascade?
1 - platelets and damaged tissue release a protein called thromboplastin.
2 - This activates an enzyme that catalyses the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin. Protein factors, vitamin K and calcium ions must be present for this to happen.
What are the last two processes of the clotting cascade?
3 - Thrombin catalyses the conversion of fibrinogen (soluble) into fibrin (insoluble).
4 - A mesh of fibrin forms that traps more platelets and red blood cells to form a clot.
What do unicellular organisms use to move substances?
diffusion
why do multicellular organisms need a circulatory system?
they rely on a mass transport system to move substances around by mass flow
describe an open circulatory system
a simple heart pumps blood out into cavities surrounding the animals organs, substances can diffuse between the blood and cells
describe a closed circulatory system
blood is enclosed within blood vessels, the blood flowed along arteries then arterioles to capillaries. the blood then returns to the heart through veins and venules
what are the advantages of an open circulatory system?
requires less energy for distribution
suited for slow metabolisms and small bodies
what are the disadvantages of an open circulatory system?
almost impossible to increase blood distribution as the total capacity of the system is achieved with virtually every heart beat
what are the advantages of a closed circulatory system?
large concentration gradients over long distances which allows more complex organisms to evolve
what are the disadvantages of a closed circulatory system?
the pressure that is possible is limited because of damage to the exchange organ
what are the two types of closed circulatory system?
single and double