BIOC33H3 Lecture : Lecture_5_Notes.rtf
22 Feb 2012
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Lecture 5: regulation of cardiac output and heart rate (continued), stroke. Volume regulation, blood flow and blood pressure: sympathetic and parasympathetic innervation of the heart. We finished previously looking at the effects of sympathetic and parasympathetic innervation of the heart and how we can quantify the amount of sympathetic and parasympathetic tone by manipulation with various agonists. Atropine was used to block muscarinic receptors and dampen parasympathetic tone (therefore increasing heart rate) and sotalol, to block beta receptors in the heart and reduce sympathetic tone (thereby lowering heart rate). By measuring the effects of atropine and sotalol against a normal heart rate, we can see the amount of sympathetic/parasympathetic tone: other cardiovascular-related output from the brain. There are other, related outputs from the brain to the cardiovascular system, and vice versa. As well as the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves going from the brainstem to the heart, there is sympathetic innervation of blood vessels (arteries and veins).
