Chapter 19- Cardiovascular System and Blood Vessels Flashcards
Tunica intima
Innermost layer
continuous with the endocardium an contains endothelium of simply squamous cells
Provides slick surface
Why is the tunica intima important?
Makes blood flow much easier and gives it less resistance - more of a gliding effect
What do capillaries have?
Endothelium
Basement membrane
Tunica media
Middle layer
Diameter of blood vessel (controls constriction) and will be the thickest layer
Contains smooth muscle
Maintaining blood pressure and circulation
Vasodilation
Smooth muscle relaxes and lumen becomes larger
Vasoconstriction
Smooth mucle contracts and lumen becomes smaller
Lumen
Free space in which the blood is travelling
Where is the tunica media thicker, arteries or veins?
Thicker in arteries
They have more smooth muscle tissue to repel the blood
Tunica externa
Outermost later
protects externally
contains collagen fibers and protects blood vessels and anchors them to surrounding structures
don’t want blood vessels to to test or bend
What do larger vessels have?
Vasa vasorum
“blood vessels on blood vessels”
What is the function of vasa vasorum
Heart, pulmonary artery, aorta
Walls are too thick to allow blood to travel through them to diffuse oxygen and stuff to outer layer so they need extra blood vessels to keep them healthy and give them oxygen
Arteries
Any blood vessel in the body that carries blood AWAY from the heart TOWARDS body tissues
Branches several times to form smaller blood vessels
Elastic arteries
“Conducting arteries”
Have large lumen - easier to pump blood through
Example- aorta and its branches
Walls have elastin that expands and recoils as heart pumps blood
Muscular arteries
Derived from elastic arteries
Thicker tunica media
LIttle elastic quality, but are good for vasoconstriction - blood pressure
Arterioles
Resistance arteries
Small arteries
Flow directly into capillary beds/blood vessels
Constriction or dilation of arterioles affects resistance to blood flow into capillaries
Dilate them and let in a large amount of blood meaning tons can flow into the cap beds and indirectly affect gas exchange
Capillaries
“exchange” vessels
contact tissue cells → allow for gas exchange, waste removal, etc.
Almost all body cells are either in direct contact with capillaries or are next to one
Diameter so small that RBCs pass through single-file (one at a time; even then, the red blood cell usually has to bend in half and squeeze through)
No tunica externa or media
Structurally suited for exchange
Joined bt tight junction with intercellular clefts that determine permeability
Continuous capillaries
Most common, but least permeable
Intercellular clefts are small, exchange of smaller substances (Water and respiratory gasses)
Found in skin and muscle tissue
Fenestrated capillaries
possess large pores, more permeable
Found mostly in places of body where absorption and filtration is frequent
Ex: small intestine and kidneys
Filter blood to produce urine
Larger intercellular clefts, sallow larger substances
Sinusoid capillaries
least common, but most permeable
Large intercellular clefts between cells with an incomplete basement membrane
Larger lumen than other capillary types
Liver, bone marrow, spleen
Red blood cells could NEVER squeeze themselves through the first two capillaries
Microcirculation
the flow of blood from an arteriole to a venule through a capillary bed
What happens to blood flow through the capillary bed when the anterior dilates or contrstricts?
Dilates- more blood flow
Constricts- Less blood flow
Why would you want to decrtease the amount of blood in a capillary bed?
Not every part of our body needs a ton of blood all the time
(Only need a small amount of blood when your digestive organs are not doing any work when you’re not eating AND If every body tissue was supplied with the exact same amount of blood at the exact same time, it would be fatal)
Venule
Capillary beds empy into this postcapillary structure where the veins come in
Veins
Any blood vessel that transports blood TO the heart
Smaller veins merge several times to form larger veins
Systemic veins carry oxygen poor blood, pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood
Have thinner tunics and larger lumen than arteries of similar size
Allows for large amounts of blood to be stored → blood reservoirs
60/70% of total blood volume
Can tap into the storage for cardiac output or blood pressure quickly
Low pressure within veins
What is the problem with lower pressure created in the veins?
Will impair blood flow and slow it down - no pressure means it doesn’t push blood very well back towards the heart
What direction do veins carry blood relative to the heart?
To the heart (right atrium)
Venules
Lead from capillary bed to larger veins
Tend to be very porous, allow easy passage from bloodstream
Water can pass through
What is the problem with lower pressure created in the veins?
Will impair blood flow and slow it down - no pressure means it doesn’t push blood very well back towards the heart
Large diameter lumen
little resistance to blood flow
Benefit: does not take a lot of “work” to move blood through veins
Venous valves
Prevents backward flow of blood through veins
Greater number of valves in veins of the appendages
Gravity acts against your veins
Varicose veins
leaky valves cause backflow of blood, causing blood to pool and walls of veins to stretch
More common in females or individuals who have had children
Venous valves in the veins are dysfunctional causing blood to pool in the vein
spider veins
Blood flow
The volume of blood flowing through a vessel, organ, or the entire circulation in a given period
Blood flows from high-pressure to low pressure
Hydrostatic pressure
Difference must exist for blood flow to occur
What does having hydrostatic pressure mean?
A difference in pressure exists in the body and blood has the tendency to flow from high-pressure to low pressure
Created by structures already talking about
Thicker tunis and larger lumen
Blood pressure
The force exerted on a blood vessel wall by the blood it contains
Blood is always pushed against the vessel wall it is flowing through
Where is blood pressure the highest?
Aorta
How does blood pressure change as blood circulates from arteries –> capillaries –> veins?
Decrease in pressure
Usually concerned only with arterial blood pressure
Resistance
Opposition of blood flow through a vessel due to the friction between the vessel wall and the flowing blood
Peripheral resistance –> Resistance is highest in systemic circulation
Anything systemic in nature, NOT those associated with the lungs
Blood viscosity
The “thickness” of blood
More difficult to pump mud than water
The more thick your blood, the more resistance it creates
Don’t want blood viscosity to change
Vessel length
The longer the blood vessel, the more blood that will rub against the blood vessel, the increase in resistance
Example- Tall people have longer resistance than shorter people
Vessel diameter
Changed frequently –> has greatest effect on resistance
Smaller diameter - the more blood in contact with blood vessel wall the more friction and resistance you are creating
Bigger = less resistance because less in contact with blood vessel wall
How do changes in blood pressure and resistance affect blood flow?
As change in blood pressure (△P) increases, blood flow (F) increases
As peripheral resistance (R) increases, blood flow decreases
Systemic Blood Pressure
The pumping action of the heart generates blood flow. Blood pressure results when blood flow is opposed by resistance
Almost always higher than pulmonary pressure
Pumping action of the heart will generate blood flow
Want blood to flow, but resistance slows it down → increase the pressure
Arterial Blood Pressure
Blood pressure in arteries near heart is pulsatile
What does pulsatile mean?
Rises and falls in a regular fashion
Disensibility of blood vessel walls
degree of stretch of blood vessels
Less elasticity = higher pressure
If you force a lot of blood into a vessel that cannot stretch, you create a ton of pressure
Volume of blood being pumped into arteries
Higher blood volume = higher blood pressure
Systolic
Pressure in the aorta when ventricle contracts
Forces blood into the aorta and stretches its walls
Healthy adults- 120 mmHg
Diastolic
Pressure in aorta when heart is relaxed
Walls of aorta relax and recoil
Still maintain enough pressure to move blood
Healthy adults- 70/90 mm Hg
Low pressure, but enough to move blood for systemic circulation
Pulse pressure
The difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure
Represents the force the heart generates with each contraction
The larger the difference between systolic and diastolic, the harder your heart has to work
What is the pulse pressure for person 1 with a blood pressure of 120/80?
40 pulse pressure
What is the pulse pressure for a person 2 with a blood pressure of 135/70?
65 pulse pressure
Not bad, but this pulse pressure is indicating that this person’s heart is working harder than the person with 40 pulse pressure
What is the pulse pressure for a person 3 with a blood pressure of 180/140?
40 pulse pressure
Even though it’s the same as person 1, they are not as healthy as person 1
Capillary Blood Pressure
Low blood pressure is typical in capillary beds
Thin walls of capillaries could burst under high-pressure and low pressure
Where is the steepest drop in blood pressure in the capillary blood pressure?
Arterioles
Venous blood pressure
Not pulsatile - more steady than in arteries
If you cut into a vein, they will have a slow trickle of blood down