Fundamentals of Circulation: Physiology and Pathophysiology of O2 Delivery and Perfusion Flashcards
How does the circulatory system transport blood around the body?
- blood carries O2 and CO2 - O2 distributed to the body - CO2 is returned to the lungs
What are the main functions of the circulatory system?
- transport hormones and nutrients to tissues - remove metabolic waste from tissue to liver and kidneys - distribute electrolytes and water throughout the body - transport immune cells - aid in thermoregulation
What is the systemic circulation?
- oxygenated blood is pumped from the heart to the body
How much of the blood in the body pumps through the arterial system?
- aprox 15%
How much of the blood in the body pumps through the venous system?
- aprox 65%
Why does so much blood in the body contained within the venous sytem?
- ⬆️ compliance - act as a reserve and venous tone ensures venous return to the right atrium
How does the pulmonary and systemic systems respond to hypoxia?
- pulmonary = vasoconstrict - systemic = vasodilate
If a part of the lung becomes hypoxic, what would happen to the blood flow to the lungs?
- blood flow to hypoxic part of lung would vasoconstrict - blood flow will be redistributed to non-hypoxic part of lungs
Why is venous return the main determinant of cardiac output?
- ⬆️ venous return = ⬆️ stroke volume - ⬇️ venous return = ⬇️ stroke volume
What is the formula for calculating venous return?
- venous return (VR)
- venous pressure (VP)
- right atrium pressure (RAP)
- venous resistance (VR)
- VR = VP - RAP / VR
Where is the velocity of blood the highest in the systemic circulation?
- closer to the heart
- generally in arterial system
Is velocity higher or lower with a large cross sectional area?
- ⬆️ cross section area = ⬇️ velocity
- ⬇️ cross section area = ⬆️ velocity
Where is cross sectional area highest in the systemic circualtion?
- ⬆️ further away from heart
- highest in capillaries
Why is a low velocity of blood important in blood vessels with a large cross sectional area?
- it allows diffusion of blood contents
Where is pressure the highest in the systemic circulation?
- closer to the heart (arterial)
What is the formula for calculating velocity?
- velocity = V - blood flow = Q - area = A - V = Q/A
What are the 3 types of capillaries?
1 - continuous
2 - fenestrated
3 - sinusoidal
When looking at capillaries including the arterial and venous ends of the capillary, where is capillary pressure the highest?
- highest arterial end = aprox 35mmHg
- neutral
- capillaries
- lowest venous end = aprox 18mmHg
What is net filtration pressure?
- difference between osmotic and capillary pressure
- osmotic is generally set at 25mmHh
- high osmotic = low filtration
- high pressure = high filtration
At the arterial end of the capillary, if the capillary pressure is 35mmHg and the osmotic pressure is 25mmHg, what is the net filtration pressure, and what happens to the contents in the blood?
- net filtration pressure = 35 - 25 = 10mmHg - filtration from the blood into interstitial space occurs
At the venous end of the capillary, if the capillary pressure is 18mmHg and the osmotic pressure is 25mmHg, what is the net filtration pressure, and what happens to the contents in the blood?
- net filtration pressure = 18 - 25 = -7mmHg - re-absorption from the interstitial space into the blood
What is pinocytosis?
- form of endocytosis
Why is pinocytosis used in the endothelium blood vessels?
- to transport large molecules across endothelium membrane
- only small proportion actually does this
What is albumin?
- a water soluble globular protein
- binds and transport proteins, ligands, hormones etc… around the body
- ensures fluid does not leak from the blood stream
What is hypoalbuminemia?
- abnormally low levels of albumin in blood plasma
What are a few common causes of hypoalbuminemia?
- poor nutrition
- liver damage
- kidney damage
What does hypoalbuminemia do to plasma osmotic pressure?
- ⬇️ osmotic pressure - causes a larger net filtration pressure - fluid is not re-absorbed
In hypoalbuminemia the plasma osmotic pressure increases, what does this do to fluid diffusion from arterial end and reabsorption at the venous end of the capillaries??
- ⬆️ oncotic pressure throughout blood vessel
- ⬆️ fluid diffusion due to larger net filtration pressure at arterial end
- results in oedema as fluid cannot be re-absorbed