Physiology and Pharmacology Flashcards
What is the function of the autonomic nervous system?
Unconscious control system of important bodily functions
What are the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system?
Sympathetic and parasympathetic
What are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system responsible for?
Sympathetic - fight or flight response
Parasympathetic - Rest and Digest
How does the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems affect heart rate?
Sympathetic - increase heart rate
Parasympathetic - decrease heart rate
How does the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems involved in the male sexual function?
Parasympathetic - erection
Sympathetic - ejaculation
What are the affects of sympathetic stimulation?
- Pupillary dilation
- Bronchodilation
- Heart rate and blood pressure rises
- Vasoconstriction in skin
- Glycogenolysis
- Metabolism increases
What does the sympathetic nervous system target directly?
Adrenal glands
Give examples of adrenergic system agonists?
Adrenaline, B2 selective agonists (salbutamol)
Give an example of an adrenergic system antagonist?
B1 selective antagonists (Beta blockers)
What is the role of adrenaline in the ANS?
- Activates alpha and beta receptors
- Blood pressure increases
- Dilates bronchi
What is a clinical use of adrenaline?
used to treatment of anaphylactic shock - Epi-Pen
What is the clinical use of B2 selective agonists of the adrenergic system?
Salbutamol
- Treats asthma
- Targets the bronchial smooth muscle
What is the clinical use of B1 selective antagonists (Beta - blockers)?
- Used to treat high blood pressure
- Anxiety
- Angina
What are the affects of parasympathetic stimulation?
- Pupillary constriction
- Decreases heart rate and blood pressure
- Promotes secretion (salivation) and mobility of digestive tracts
- Facilitates digestion
- Defecation and urination
Name some differences between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system??
Parasympathetic has linger pre-ganglionic fibre, different anatomical location and different post ganglionic neurotransmitter
Give an example of a cholinergic agonist?
Muscarine
What are the effects of the cholinergic agonist Muscarine?
- Decreases blood pressure
- Increases salivation and sweating
- Abdominal pain
What is the clinical use of the cholinergic agonist Muscarine?
Pilocarpine eye drops - treatment for glaucoma
Give an example of a cholinergic antagonist?
- Atropine - blocks muscarinic receptors
What are the effects of the cholinergic antagonist atropine?
- Inhibition of secretion
- Smooth muscle relaxant
- Pupillary dilation
- Increase body temperature
What neurotransmitters are used in the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems?
- Adrenaline
- ACh
- ATP
- Nitric Oxide
- VIP
- Substance P
What are the clinical uses of nitric oxide?
Viagra
What part of the brain controls the ANS?
Hypothalamus
Give examples of cortical events that initiate an autonomic response?
- Panic attack - Initiate fight or flight
- Emotional stress/painful stimuli - Vasodialtion and decrease in blood pressure
- Chronic stress - increase in gastric acid secretion
Define receptor
Proteins that bind chemical mediators e.g. hormones, neurotransmitters
Define agonist
Drugs that bind to a receptor producing a response e.g. morphine
Define antagonists
Drugs that prevent the response of agonist -most clinical drugs e.g. atropine
Define ligand
Any molecule that binds to the receptor (agonist or antagonist)
What are the 4 types of drug receptors?
- Ion channels
- Enymes
- Carriers/Transporters
- Receptors
Give an example of drugs that target ion channels?
Apamin
- Stops pain nerve channels from admitting action potentials
- K+ channels booked
Give examples of drugs that target enzymes?
Aspirin
- binds to COX which signal inflammation
- therefore reduces inflammation, fever
Pargyline and clorgyline
- inhibits MaO enzyme which breaks down dopamine
- treats depression
Give examples of drugs that target transporters?
Fluoxetine (prozac)
- Works with transporters that takes up serotonin - keep levels high as a treatment for depression
- blocks transporter that pumps Ca2+ out the heart - used to treat fibrillation
What percentage of drugs interfere with receptors involved in chemical communication?
40%
What are the classes of receptors?
- Ligand gated ion channels
- G protein coupled receptors
- Kinase - linked receptors
- Nuclear receptors
What is the advantage of ligand gated ion channels as a receptor?
Involved in fast synaptic transmission
How do ligand gated ion channels open?
- Bound by an agonist
- Causing the membrane potential change
- Membrane depolarises for an excitatory neurotransmitter
- Membrane depolarisation is inhibited by inhibitory neurotransmitters
Give the structure of a nicotinic receptor?
- 5 subunits - heteromeric
- Receptors combine in distinct combinations
- Two molecules of ACh or nicotine must bind to open the channel
What is a G protein coupled receptor?
- Regulates an effector protein (enumerated or ion channel) via a G protein
- Generates a second messenger
What is the structure of G-proteins?
- 3 subunits alpha, beta and gamma
- Activated when GTP (phosphorylated)
- Rest when GDP (dephosphorylated)
How does a G-protein regulate an effector?
- Agonist binds to the receptor activating the G protein
- Causes the dissociation of alpha and beta subunits
- These bind with effectors
How do G protein couples receptors amplify signals?
Once a G protein has been activated and dissociates, the receptor is free to activate more G proteins. One receptor can activate many G proteins causing an amplification
What effectors are regulated by G proteins?
- Enzymes which regulated second messengers
- Ion channels
What are the clinical uses of adrenoceptor agonists?
Cardiovascular system - Cardiac arrest - Anaphylaxis - Hypertension Respiratory system - Bronchodilator (salbutamol)
What are the clinical uses of adrenoceptor antagonists?
- Hypertension
- Heart failure
- Anxiety
Unwanted effects: - Bronchoconstriction
- Cardiac depression
- Fatigue
Define efficacy
The maximum response achievable from a drug
Define affinity
Degree to which a substance tends to bind with another
What is up-regulating in terms of receptors?
An increase in receptors following low levels of its hormone
What is down-regulation in terms of receptors?
Decrease in receptors following high levels of a hormone
Give an example of how hormones influence receptors for other hormones
- Oestrogen must be present to prime receptors for progesterone in the menstrual cycle
- Thyroid hormone up regulates adrenaline receptors and allow the release of fatty acid from adipose tissue
Are hormones agonists or antagonists?
Agonists
Give an example of an antagonist used to block a hormone?
Clomiphene citrate is used to block oestrogen - used in IVF
What does activation of membrane receptors result in?
- Receptor enzyme activity
- Activity of JAK kinases associated with the receptor
- G proteins coupled to receptors generate the second messenger
What does the activation of intercellular receptors cause?
- Transcription of genes
- Change in synthesis of proteins
- Change in rate of protein synthesis
Give examples of how large doses of hormones are used as drugs?
- Cortisol to reduce inflammation
- Progesterone as the morning after pill
What coordinates the endocrine system?
Hypothalamus and pituitary gland
Name the factors released from the hypothalamus that co ordinate the endocrine system
- Thyrotrophin releasing factor
- Growth hormone releasing factor
- Growth hormone inhibiting factor
- ADH
- Oxytocin
Give some characteristics of insulin?
- Peptide home
- Secreted by beta cells of islets of Langerhans
- Inative precursor of proinsulin
- Cleaved by proteolytic enzymes
When is insulin released?
- When blood glucose concentration rises above the normal range (70-110mg/dl)
- Increased blood arginine/leucine
What are the two types of diabetes mellitus?
- Insulin dependant
- Non insulin dependant
Give the characteristics of insulin dependant diabetes mellitus (type 1)
- Lack of insulin from beta cells
- Cells can’t take up glucose so body reacts as if blood glucose is low
- Lipid and proteins broken down which results in ketoacidosis - Death
- High glucose in urine
- Fatigue, muscle wasting. neuropathy
Give the characteristics of non-insulin dependant diabetes mellitus (type 2)
- Typically in obese individuals over 40
- Maturity onset diabetes
- 90% of diabetes
- Insulin levels normal but tissues don’t respond to it
What treatments are available for type 2 diabetes?
- Weight loss
- Metformin - drug which lowers blood sugar, causes glucose uptake by muscles to increase, does not cause hypoglycaemia, causes GI disturbances -side effect
What is diabetes insipidus?
Posterior pituitary gland fails to produce enough ADH causing excessive drinking and urination - often confused with diabetes as similar symptoms
What is polycystic ovarian syndrome?
- 20% of women have cysts
- 6-10% have polycystic ovarian syndrome
- causes insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia
- Reduced fertility
What hormones does the thyroid gland release?
- Monoiodotryosine
- Diiodotryosine
- Triiodothyronine
- Thyroxine
What does the thyroid hormone stimulate?
- Protein synthesis
- Increased use of glucose for ATP production
- Increases lipolysis
What happens if there is a thyroid hormone deficiency?
Cretinism - In children - Congenital hypothyroidism - Mentally immature, cannot hear or speak - Bone growth retarded - Sexually immature Myxoedema - Adult hypothyroidism - Low TSH - Low cardiac output - oedema
What happens If there is too much thyroid hormone?
Graves Disease
- more common in females
- Autoimmune disease
- Pressure behind eyes cause exophthalmos
What are the three layers of a blood vessel?
- Tunica intima
- Tunica media
- Tunica externa
What does the tunica intima consist of?
- Endothelium
- Basement membrane
What does the tunica media consist of?
- Elastic fibres
- Muscle
What does the tunica external consist of?
- Collagen
- Vasa vasorum - making connections with muscle cells in media
- Lymphatics
Why does the aorta have lots of elastic tissue?
To cope with the peak ejection pressures
What is arteriosclerosis?
Thickening of the arterial walls due to focal calcification
What is atherosclerosis?
Lipid and monocyte deposition in the tunica media
- Cholesterol
- Low ApoE
- High LDL’s
How and why are blood vessel diameters changed?
- Important in maintaining good pressure
- AG11 is a powerful vasoconstrictor
- ACE inhibitors reduce blood pressure
Give some characteristics of capillaries
- Just tunica initima - endothelium and basement membrane
- Simplest vessel
- variable structure - leaky/tight
- Role in the formation of tissue fluid
Difference between venules and arterioles?
Venules are less muscular than arterioles and are more prone to collapse
Differences between veins and arteries
Veins are less muscular, more distensible (can open more) and they can store blood
Give some special characteristics of large veins
Vena cava
- Longitudinal bundles of smooth muscle which contract to shorten and widen the vessel
Large veins
- More muscular than venules
- Contain pocket valved to ensure correct direction of blood vessels
What is the function of the lymphatic system?
Delivers excess tissue fluid to the cardiovascular system
Impaired flow leads to oedema - build up of fluid in tissue
Give the characteristics of lymphatics?
- Blind-ended, freely permeable
- Flap valves to allow fluid in and out
- Larger lymphatics are vein like - pocket valves
What is the role of the lymphatic system in the immune response?
- Lymph nodes move fluid around
- Wuchereria brancrofti (worm) - lives in lymphatic system in humans
What do the maxima and minima of the blood pressure wave formed by the heart show?
Maxima - systolic pressure
Minima - Diastolic pressure
As blood travels through the arteries the maxima and minima pressure close together
What are the pressures of the vessels in the pulmonary circuit?
- Systolic - 25mmHg
- Diastolic - 8mmHg
- Capillaries - 10mmHg
What are the pressures of the vessels in the systemic circuit?
- Systolic - 120mmHg
- Diastolic - 75mmHg
- Capillary - 15mmHg
How do you measure arterial blood pressure?
- Inflatable cuff, release pressure
- First sound is systolic pressure
- Muffling is diastolic
What affects systolic pressure?
- Ejection velocity
- Stroke volume
What is diastolic pressure affected by?
- Total peripheral resistance
- Blood flow from arterial to venous sides
How is arterial blood pressure regulated in the short and long term?
Short term - regulated by baroreceptors - all around circuit and feedback information
Long term - control of blood volume
Give an example of baroreceptor control?
When lying doen arterial pressures are equal but standing up its not so diastolic pressure increases. In order to raise it
- Increase of sympathetic outflow to the heart- increases cardiac output
- Constricts Flo to vessels to increase resistance
Mean arterial pressure = Cardiac output x resistance
Name some treatments for low blood pressure
Increase resistance (by vasoconstriction)
- Angiotensin II
- Phenylephrine (sympathetic agonist at b1 receptors)
Increase cardiac output
- Sympathetic agonist at b1 receptors
- Na/K+ ATPase pump inhibitor
Name some treatments for high pressure
Decrease resistance (by vasodilation)
- Prazosin (sympathetic antagonists at a1 receptors
Decrease cardiac output
- Sympathetic antagonists at B1 receptors
-Ca2+ channel blockers
How does exercise affect blood pressure?
Diastolic decreases as resistance decreases
Systolic increases as stroke volume increases
What are the two types of respiration?
Internal - glycolysis etc
External - Ventilation
What is essential for efficient diffusion?
Maintaining a short diffusion distance
How are the branches of the lungs numbered?
Conducting zone:
The trachea would be a generation 0 and the bronchioles are generation 16.
Respiratory zone:
Alevoii sacs up to generation 23
What is present in the conducting zones of the respiratory system?
- Nose
- Oropharynx
- Larynx
- Trachea
- Bronchial tree
What is the function of the conducting zone in the respiratory system?
- Filters the air
- Temperature - changes to body temperature
- Humidify - keep the alveoli moist
What is the structure of the bronchial wall?
- Reinforced with cartilage (prevent from collapsing)
- Smooth muscle - alter airway diameter
- Mucous gland - line airways
- Elastic tissue - prevent over expansion of airways
What types of epithelium are present in the respiratory system?
- Ciliated epithelia - wast mucus up the airways
- Goblet cells - produce the mucus
- Sensory nerve endings - detection - cause coughing
What is the structure if the bronchioles?
- Lack of cartilage support
- Lined by respiratory epithelium
- More smooth muscle
- Less than 1mm diameter
What is the structure of the alveoli?
- Large surface area
- Thin wall - rapid diffusion of blood
- Fed from terminal bronchiole
What is the air blood barrier?
For gas to exchange multiple barriers have to be crossed
Created by a flattened cytoplasm of a type 1 pnemuocyte (type 2 produces surfactant) and the capillary wall
Large surface area for gas exchange
What are the two processes of ventilation?
- Inspiration
- Expiration
Describe the mechanism of quite (at rest) inspiration?
- involves the primary muscle of inspiration
- Diaphragm contract and moves down increasing the volume of the thorax
- Intercostal muscles contract - Ribs up and out - increases volume
- Pressure in the thorax falls below atmospheric pressure causing air to move in
What is the mechanism of forced inspiration?
- Primary and accessory muscles of inspiration are used
- Scalenes - moves ribs up
- Sternocleidomastoids - moves sternum up
- Neck and back muscles
- Upper respiratory tract muscles
Describe the mechanism of quite (at rest) expiration?
- No primary muscle of expiration - passive process using elastic recoil
- External intercostal muscles
- Recoil of the lungs
- Diaphragm relaxes
Describe the mechanism of forced expiration?
- Active process
- Accessory muscles
- Internal intercostals contract - help reduce thorax size
- Neck and back muscles
- Abdominal muscles - push diaphragm down
What is the function of the pleural cavity?
- Pleural cavity filled with secretions
- Prevents lungs from sticking to the chest wall
- Enables free expansion and collapse of the lungs
What is the pressure in the intraplural space sub atmospheric?
The elastic nature of the lungs would cause them to collapse inwards
The cages wall would expand
At rest these forces balance meaning the pressure in the intraplural space is sub atmospheric
How does a lung collapse?
Breach of the chest wall would cause air to enter the intrapleural space meaning the pressure would fall to the same as atmospheric
Lung would collapse to minimum volume due to its elastic nature
What is compliance and how is it measured?
The measure of elasticity - the ease with which the lungs and thorax expand during pressure changes
C = change in volume/ change in pressure
What does a low and a high compliance imply?
Low compliance - more work requires to inspire e.g. pulmonary fibrosis
High compliance - more difficulty in expiring dues to loss of elastic recoil e.g. emphysema
What are the two major components involved in the elastic recoil of the lungs?
- Anatomical component - elastic nature of cells and extracellular matrix
- Surface tension generated at air fluid interface
How is a surface tension developed in the lungs?
Due to its polar nature, water molecules adhere together, giving rise to surface tension at air - water interfaces
What is Laplace’s equation?
P = 2T/r
Pressure calculated by the surface tension and the rains of the aveoli
What does Laplace’s equation tell us about alveoli?
That the pressure in the larger alveoli is lower than that in the small alveoli meaning that air will move out of the small and into the large causing their collapse
How is the collapse of small alveoli overcome?
By the use of surfactant as it reduces the surface tension
What is the function of surfactant and how is it produced?
Produced by type II pneumocytes and is composed of lipids and proteins
It reduces the surface tension of small alveoli stopping them from collapse
It also slows the rate of inflation of the alveoli
What is used to measure lung volumes?
A spirometer
What is the difference between anatomical and physiological dead space?
- Anatomical is the volume of conducting airways
- Physiological is the volume of lungs not participating in gas exchange
Two values are usually almost identical
What is the residual volume?
Volume of air left in lungs after you’ve breathed out as much as possible
What is the vital capacity?
Total volume of air that can possibly be breathed in and out
What is the total capacity?
Sum of the residual volume and vital capacity
What is tidal volume?
Volume of air breathed in and out at rest
How do reserve volumes change during exercise?
- Tidal volume increases
- Reserve volumes go down
How is residual volume calculated?
Helium dilution technique
- Known vol and conc in chamber \
- Diluted as breathes
What is the relationship between flow of air in or out of the lungs and the pressure gradient?
They are directly proportional
What is the relationship between flow of air in or out of the lungs and the resistance?
Inversely proportional
What is Poiseuilles’s law?
- Airway resistance is proportional to gas viscosity and the length of the tube but is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the radius
- Small changes in airway diameter have a big impact on the resistance and hence the flow rate
- R ∝ 1/(r^4)
What is the total airway resistance in a normal individual?
1.5cm H2O.s.litres^-1
What factors increase airway resistance?
- Increased mucus
- Oedema
- Airway collapse
How does increased mucus impact the airway resistance?
Increased mucus secretion will reduce airway diameter
How does an oedema impact the airway resistance?
Increased fluid retention in the lug tissue will cause swelling and narrowing of the airways - increased resistance
How does the collapse of the airway impact the airways resistance?
In forced expiration, airways narrow causing resistance
How does the autonomic nervous system control the bronchial smooth muscle?
Parasympathetic
- ACh released from Vagus nerve acting on muscarinic receptors leasing to constriction
Sympathetic
- Release of norepinephrine from nerves leads to dilation
What humeral factors control the bronchial smooth muscle?
- Epinephrine leads to dilation
- Histamine released during inflammatory response leads to constriction
What is the relationship between lung ventilation and lung perfusion?
Ratio = V/Q
What is lung perfusion and where is it greater?
The passage of fluid through the circulatory system
Greater at the base than the apex
How can the ratio between lung ventilation and lung perfusion be used clinically?
Can be compared against the produced volume to identify problems with gas exchange
What is Daltons law?
The total pressure of a mixture of gases is the sum of their individual partial pressures
What is standard atmospheric pressure?
760mmHg
What is Henry’s law and what is it used for?
To calculate the concentration of a gas dissolved in a solution
[Gas}dis = Solubility x Partial Pressure
Why is haemoglobin required?
Because the body requires 250ml O2/min but Oxygen has a low solubility in saline so at rest the plasma would be able to carry 15ml O2/min at the most. This is not sufficient for life
Give the structure of haemoglobin?
- Tetrameric structure
- Four subunits
- Molecular weight of 68kD
- 2 alpha and 2 beta chains
How is does iron bind to haem?
The enzyme methaemoglobin reductase converts Fe3+ to Fe2+ because for it to bind it has to be in Fe2+ state
What is the tense state ad relaxed state of haemoglobin?
Tense state - low affinity for O2
Relaxed state - high affinity for O2
Why is there a lag at the start of the haemoglobin dissociating curve?
Because haemoglobin starts in its tense state meaning it has. allow affinity for oxygen. Once one oxygen molecule has bound then the haemoglobin state relaxed meaning it has a high affinity for oxygen
How does temperature affect the oxygen - haemoglobin dissociation curve?
At a low temperature, haemoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen so the curve shifts to the left. At high temperature, the curve shifts to the right - oxygen will dissociate earlier
What is the affect of PH on the oxygen - haemoglobin dissociation curve?
CO2 is n acidic gas so when the PH is lowered the curve shifts to the right so that oxygen dissociates easier so CO2 can bind
What is the effect of 2,3 diphosphoglycerate on the oxygen - haemoglobin dissociation curve?
It binds to the B chain of haemoglobin causing the curve to shift to the right as oxygen can’t bind
What is the benefit of increased temperature, PH and 2,3 phosphoglycerate cause a right shift in the dissociation curve?
Respiring tissues cause these factors to increase meaning that the dissociation of oxygen occurs and the oxygen is released into the tissues
Does fatal haemoglobin have a low or high affinity for oxygen in comparison to normal haemoglobin and why?
Has a higher affinity for oxygen because the beta chains are replaced with delta chains meaning that 2,3 - phosphoglycerate cannot bind
What are the methods of CO2 carriage in the blood?
Carried as
- dissolved carbon dioxide
- carbonic acid
- biocarbonate
- carbonate
- carbamino compounds
What are channels are used by CO2 to enter a red blood cell?
- Aquaporins
- Rhesus complex
What happens to CO2 in the red blood cell?
Co2 is converted into HCO3- with the help of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase
What are the two categories of lung disease?
Obstructive
- Reduction in flow through airways
Restrictive
- Reduction in long expansion
What is obstructive lung disease?
Narrowing of the airways due to - Excess secretions - Bronchoconstriction - asthma - Inflammation causes an increase in airflow resistance
What test could be used to test for an obstructive lung disease?
If forced expiratory volume on a spirometer drops below 80% than obstructive lung disease
In a volume - time curve, what shape would the trace of an obstructive and restrictive lung disease patients be?
Obstructive would take longer but would eventually reach the full capacity
Restrictive would not reach the full capacity
http://www.nataliescasebook.com/tag/spirometry
In flow - volume loops what shape would an obstructive lung disease be?
Would curve inwards slightly causing a concave shape
http://www.sharinginhealth.ca
/imaging/pulmonary_function_tests.html
Name some obstructive diseases?
- Chronic bronchitis
- Asthma
- COPD
- Emphysema
What can trigger an asthma attack?
Atopic (extrinsic) -allergies - contact with inhaled allergens Non-atopic (intrinsic) - Respiratory infections - Cold air - Stress - Exercise