Lecture 2 - Blood Vessels and Pressure Flashcards
What are the five blood vessels in the body?
artery, arteriole, capillary, venule, vein
What is the relative mean diameters of each of the five blood vessels in the body?
artery- 4mm
arteriole - 30 um
capillary - 8 um - can fit on rbc
venule - 20 um
vein - 5mm
What do all blood vessles have?
an endothelial layer of cells
What blood vessles have a layer of smooth muscle?
arteries, arterioles, (NOT capillaries or veins smaller than 30 micrometers)venules and veins
What is a metaarteriole?
an arteriole with less smooth muscle which has precapillary sphincters which are smooth muscle which can constrict or dilate to cause blood flow to certain capillaries
What is arteriovenous anastomosis?
stagnant blood in the capillaries due to precapillary sphincters being constructed
What is vasodilation and vasoconstriction?
vasodilation - smooth muscle of arterioles is relaxed
vasoconstriction - smooth muscle of arterioles is constricted
What prevents a blood vessel from rupturing?
the connectuve tissue in the blood vessles which is made of collagen and it is thicker outside of arteries than veins because arteries are the pressure reserve while veins are the volume reserve of blood
What is laplace’s equation?
the wall tension (or force pulling walls apart) is proportional to the pressure inside the vessels times the radius of the vessels
What blood vessels is most likely to burst?
arteries because they have biggest radius and wall tension
What is an aneurysm?
when an artery inflates
What happens in a subarachnoid hemmorhage?
the pressure in the subarachnoid space wil surpass that of the brian and the blood will flow into the brain and cause it to start dying
What is the pressure change in systemic circulation?
there is a continual drop in pressure that deeper you go into the vascular system
What does the pressure in the left ventricle fluctuate between?
0 and 120 because it is less elastic than the arteries and can completely relax between systole (isovolumic contraction) and diastole
What does the pressure fluctuate between in the large arteries?
-the large arteries have a lot of connective tissue surrounding them making them more elastic so the pressure only fluctuates between 120 and 80 - this is pulsing
Why does the greatest pressure drop happen in the arterioles?
bceause they have the smallest diameter and are surrounded by the most smooth muscle so they can vasodilate causing less resistance and the pressure drops
Is there pulsing in the capillaries?
no
What is the pressue in the vena cava?
a bit above zero so it can fill the right atrium which is at zero
What is the pressure in the right ventricle?
fluctuates between 0 and 30mmHg
What is the pressure in the pulmonary arteries?
fluctuates between 20 and 30
What is the pressure in the small arteries and arterioles?
begins to falls due to vasodilation of arterioles
Is there pulsing in the pulmonary capillaries?
no