PSIO 532 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Hemorheology, Blood Vessel, Perfusion
Graduate Physiology PSL
Blood Flow Regulation
➔ Know the factors that determine the total energy of the flowing blood. Describe the
usual reference point for physiological pressure
**Flow occurs from area of high pressure to low pressure**
Factors Involved in Total Energy of Flowing Blood
• Cardiac performance (driving pressure) – heart contracts and pushes the blood
• Blood vessel diameter (resistance) – as the vessels get smaller, it will impede
blood flow; if the vessels get larger, it will improve flow
• Blood vessel compliance (capacitance) – referring to the veins and how well they
can hold the blood; compliant = hold a lot of blood, constricted = hold less blood
• Degree of branching of vasculature (resistance) – the resistance keeps on
increasing as you continue to branch
• Blood viscosity (resistance)
• At the heart, there is a high pressure and by the time you get back to the heart,
there is low pressure (High pressure → Low pressure: provides the driving force
for the flow); we want the blood to go from the heart through arteries, through
the capillaries, through the veins and then come back to the heart; due to the
resistance at each of those points, the pressure will fall → this is good for us
because we want a certain perfusion pressure at the level of organ (oxygen
exchange); and we also
want a lower pressure so that we can have oxygen exchange at the lungs as
well
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
