environmental effects on body systems Flashcards
what is classed as high altitude?
1600M above sea level
what is humidity?
water particles in the air
what is barometric pressure?
air pressure in the atmosphere
what is acclimatisation?
adapting to new conditions
what is erythroprotein?
hormone that increases your red blood cell count
describe what conditions lead to in the body at high altitude
lower barometric pressure leads to a lower partial pressure of oxygen in the air, leading to lower arterial partial pressure of oxygen so there is less oxygen delivery leading to a decrease in aerobic performance
what are the short term effects of high altitude?
- increased heart rate
- increased breathing rate
what are the long term effects of high altitude?
during acclimatisation more EPO is produced which increases the red blood cell count
after 6 weeks at more than 4500M red blood cell count increases by 14%
what is thermoregulation?
regulation of your core temperature
what are thermoreceptors?
they detect a change in heat
what is hyperthermia?
increased core body temperature
what causes hyperthermia?
- increased heat in the air
- increased exercise
- humidity is too high
what is cardiovascular drift?
where an increase of 1 degree in temperature leads to an increase in HR of one beat per minute
what is the effect of cardiovascular drift and respiratory systems?
increased sweat leads to decrease in blood plasma so less oxygen delivery leading to increased HR
how long does it take to acclimatise to the heat and what happens?
2 weeks
blood plasma is increased
