Ischaemia, Infarction & Shock Flashcards
What is the definition of hypoxia?
When the oxygen saturation of tissues falls
What is the definition of ischaemia?
the interruption/disturbance of blood flow to cells and tissues
What is the relationship between ischaemia and hypoxia?
ischaemia ALWAYS results in hypoxia
hypoxia can occur without ischaemia e.g. anaemia
How is the oxygen supply and metabolite supply affected in hypoxia?
There is an impaired oxygen supply only
Other metabolites are still supplied to the tissue
How is the metabolite supply affected in ischaemia?
There is a decreased supply of metabolites, including glucose
What is the consequence of lack of glucose in ischaemia?
glycolytic anaerobic respiration fails due to lack of glucose
the build up of metabolites impairs anaerobic respiration further
What is the consequence of the reduced metabolite supply in ischaemia on the tissues?
Ischaemia will injure tissues faster and more severely than hypoxia
What is the main cause of ischaemia?
vascular occlusion
this can be arterial or venous
What are the 3 main causes of vascular occlusion?
- severe atherosclerosis
- thrombosis
- embolism
What are the 6 rarer causes of ischaemia?
- vasospasm
- vasculitis
- extrinsic compression (e.g. tumour)
- twisting of vessel roots (e.g. volvulus)
- rupture of vascular supply
- cardiac failure
What happens if ischaemia is limited and only occurs for a short duration?
Any cell injury is reversible
What is primary percutaneous coronary intervention used for?
Myocardial ischaemia/infarction
It allows for rapid restoration of blood flow to allow for reversible cell injury
What happens if ischaemic injury is prolonged or sustained?
Irreversible cell damage
This leads to necrosis
What is tissue necrosis called when it is caused by ischaemia?
infarction
What do the variable effects of vascular occlusion depend on (4 factors)?
- nature of the blood supply
- the rate of occlusion
- tissue vulnerability to hypoxia
- blood oxygen content
How does the nature of the blood supply affect whether vascular occlusion will cause damage?
an alternative blood supply means that vascular occlusion causes less damage
severe ischaemia is required for infarction
In which 3 organs is severe ischaemia less likely to occur due to a dual blood supply?
- lungs = pulmonary and bronchial arteries
- liver - hepatic artery and portal vein
- hand - radial and ulnar artery
In general, what kind of tissues are resistant to infarction of a single vessel?
tissues with a dual blood supply
Why are the kidneys, spleen and testis more vulnerable to both arterial and venous infarction?
they have end-arterial circulations
this means an artery only blood supply
What type of organs are more vulnerable to venous infarction?
organs with a single venous outflow (testis/ovary)
How does the rate of occlusion affect the severity of the effects of vascular occlusion?
Why?
Slow developing occlusions are less likely to lead to infarction
This allows time for the development of alternative perfusion pathways (collateral supply)
What is the state of the anastomoses in the heart under normal circumstances?
there are small anastomoses that connect the major branches of the coronary artery system
they have minimal flow
What is significant about the anastomoses in the coronary artery system when a coronary arterial branch becomes occluded?
If a coronary arterial branch becomes slowly occluded, the flow can be directed through the anastomoses
Infarction can be avoided even if the main arterial branch is totally occluded
If a neurone in the brain is deprived of oxygen, how long does it take for it to undergo irreversible cell damage?
3 - 4 minutes
If a cardiac myocyte or cardiac fibroblast is deprived of oxygen, how long does it take for irreversible cell damage to occur?
cardiac myocyte - 20-30 mins
cardiac fibroblast takes hours
Why does it take longer for irreversible cell damage to occur in a cardiac fibroblast compared to a myocyte?
fibroblasts are not as metabolically active as heart muscle cells
How does blood oxygen content affect the severity of the effects of vascular occlusion?
reduced oxygen content in the blood means that tissues are more vulnerable to infarction
e.g. anaemia
Why does an infarct occur in a normally inconsequential narrowing of vessels in congestive heart failure?
There is poor cardiac output and impaired pulmonary ventilation
Infarct occurs due to impaired oxygenation of the tissues
What 5 categories are looked for when looking at morphological changes of an infarct?
- location
- colour
- shape
- type of necrosis
- histological changes over time
What is the name of the locations that are looked for when identifying an infarct?
watershed regions
What is a watershed region?
a point of anastomoses between 2 vascular supplies
Infarcts are more likely to occur here
What are examples of common watershed regions?
- splenic flexure in colon
- myocardium
- regions in the brain
What are the two types of infarction and their colour?
- red infarction (haemorrhagic)
2. white infarction (anaemic)
Where do red infarctions tend to be found?
In regions with a dual blood supply
or venous infarctions