Cardiovascular Regulation and Coronary Circulation Flashcards
During emergency situations, which organs have the greatest need for blood supply?
Brain
Heart
What are the major functions of the heart?
- Generating blood pressure
- Routing blood
- Ensuring one-way blood flow
- Regulating blood supply
What are the two major mechanisms of blood flow control?
- Acute control
- Local
- Humoral
- Long term control
- Vascular remodeling
- Formation of new vessels
What is autoregulation?
It is a manifestation of local blood flow regulation defined as the instrinsic ability of an organ to maintain a constant blood flow despite changes in perfusion pressure
Individual organ flow is under the control of resistive vessels (arterioles). What part of the autonomic system controls these vessels?
- Mainly sympathetic
- Very few parasympathetic system
Blood flow is regulated by tissue needs. What are the major needs to tissue supplied by blood flow?
- Oxygen
- Nutrients
- Removal of CO2, hydrogen and other metabolites
- Transport of hormones
Flow is closely related to _______ rate of tissues.
Metabolic
What are the two major theories for control of local blood? What does each state?
- The vasodilato theory
- Increases in tissue metabolism lead to increases in blood flow
- Oxygen demand theory
- Decreases in oxygen availability to tissues increases tissue blood flow
Tissue metabolic rate and tissue blood flow are _______ (directly/indirectly) proportional.
Directly
What are the major vasodilators implicated in increasing blood flow?
Adenosine
CO2
Lactic acid
ADP compounds
Histamine
K ions
H ions
What is the mechanism of the vasodilator theory for blood flow control?
- Increase in tissue metabolism
- Release of vasodilators
- Decrease in arteriole resistance
- Increase in blood flow
What is the mechanism of the oxygen demand theory of blood flow control?
- Decrease in oxygen delivery to tissues
- Decrease in tissue oxygen concentration
- Decrease in arteriole resistance
- Increase in blood flow
The _______ (sympathetic/ parasympathetic) nervous system is most important in regulating the vessels, while the _________ (sympathetic/parasympathetic) nervous system is most important in regulating heart function.
Sympathetic; parasympathetic
Arteriole diameter is controlled by the tonic release of ____________.
Norepinephrine
*This means that arterioles are tonically constricted
Increase in norepinephrine release onto alpha-receptors causes blood vessels to ___________ (dilate/constrict)
Constrict
Decrease in norepinephrine release onto alpha-receptors causes blood vessels to ___________ (dilate/constrict)
Dilate
What roles does the nervous system have in regulation of circulation?
- Regulates via the autonomic nervous system
- Rapid control of arterial pressure
- Redistribution of blood flow
- Increasing pumping activity of the heart
Sympathetic nerve fibers innervate all vessels except __________.
Capillaries
NOTE: Capillaries are NOT innervated
Parasympathetic nervous system is mainly important in control of _______.
Heart rate
*This done via the vagus nerve
What is the vasomotor center?
The VMC is a portion of the medulla oblongata that, together with the cardiovascular center and respiratory center, regulates blood pressure and other homeostatic processes.
Where is the vasomotor center located?
Bilaterally in the reticular substance of the medulla
Lower third of pons
NOTE: The vasomotor center transmits impulses downward through the cord to almost all blood vessels
What are the components of the vasomotor center?
Vasoconstrictor area
Vasodilator area
Sensory area
How does the nervous system control arterial pressure?
- Constricting almost all arterioles of the body which increases total peripheral resistance (TPR)
- Constricting large vessels of the circulation thereby increasing venous return and cardiac output
- Directly increases cardiac output by increasing heart rate and contractility
The __________ secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine which contrists blood vessels via ______ receptors.
Adrenal medulla; alpha adrenergic receptors
NOTE: Epinephrine can also dilate vessels through a potent Beta2 receptor
What is the general mechanism by which the nervous system increased arterial pressure?
- Excercise/ fright
- Activation of vasomotor center
- Increase in sympathetic and decrease in parasympathetic activity
- Increase in total peripheral resistance, venous return, heart rate, and heart strength
- Increase in arterial pressure
How does the arterial baroreceptor reflex regulate arterial pressure?
- A rise in pressure stretches baroreceptors, causing them to transmit signals to the vasomotor center
- Feedback signals are sent, via the autonomic system, to circulation
- Arterial pressure is reduced back to normal