blood pressure 1vdeck Flashcards
Degree of constriction experienced by a blood vessel relative to…
… its maximally dilated state.
What is vascular smooth muscle?
vascular tone (vascular tonus).
Which units are used to measure blood pressure?
- Bar
- PSI (pound per square inch)
- mm Hg – millimetre of mercury
Define blood pressure?
pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels. Force applied to the vessel walls.
What is the flow rate of blood?
volume of blood flowing through a specific vessel – or organ – over a period of time (for example, L/min, mL/s, etc.)
Flow is directly proportional to…
… pressure gradient.
Flow is inversely proportional to …
… vascular resistance.
What is vascular resistance?
Frictional force that opposes the flow of a fluid.
increased change in pressure =
increased flow
Increased resistance =
decreased flow rate.
decreased resistance =
increased flow rate.
How can the body compensate for increased resistance?
Heart works harder to achieve a larger pressure gradient.
The flow rate of blood through a vessel is…
… the volume of blood passing through per unit of time.
The flow rate of blood through a vessel is directly proportional to…
… the pressure gradient (as the pressure gradient increases, flow rate increases).
The flow rate of blood is inversely proportional to …
… vascular resistance (as resistance increases, flow rate decreases).
Flow rate of blood through a vessel =
pressure gradient / resistance of blood vessel.
What causes resistance to blood flow?
- Blood viscosity
- Vessel dimensions
What is blood viscosity?
The ‘thicker’ a liquid, the more viscous it is.
What about vessel dimensins causes ressitance to blood flow?
- Vessel dimensions
Length
Radius
Blood ‘rubbing’ - the greater the contact area = the greater the resistance.
More blood in contact with the walls of a narrow vessel =
increased resistance - flow decreases.
Less blood in contact with the walls of a wide vessel =
decreased resistance. Flow increases.
Slight change in the radius of a vessel =
notable change in flow.
Poiseuille law
Flow = pi x pressure gradient x radius^4 / 8 x viscosity x length.
Resistance is inversely proportional to…
… the fourth power of the radius.