Blood vessels, the arteries and veins have three main layers: tunica adventitia, tunica media and tunica intima. In arteries, it provides a smooth lining. However in veins it maintains the one way flow of the blood. Capillaries are microscopic vessels that carry blood from small arteries to small veins(arterioles to venules) and back to the heart.
Blood vessels, the arteries and veins have three main layers: tunica adventitia, tunica media and tunica intima. In arteries, it provides a smooth lining. However in veins it maintains the one way flow of the blood. Capillaries are microscopic vessels that carry blood from small arteries to small veins(arterioles to venules) and back to the heart.
Blood vessels, the arteries and veins have three main layers: tunica adventitia, tunica media and tunica intima. In arteries, it provides a smooth lining. However in veins it maintains the one way flow of the blood. Capillaries are microscopic vessels that carry blood from small arteries to small veins(arterioles to venules) and back to the heart.
Cardiovascular system The Heart The Heart lies in the mediastinum, behind the body of the sternum. The shape of the heart tends to resemble the chest. the heart has chambers divided into four cavities with the right and left chambers(atria and the ventricles) separated by the septum. The Blood Vessels There are 3 types of blood vessels: the arteries, the veins and the capillaries. An artery is a vessel that carries blood away from the heart. it carries oxygenated blood. Small arteries are called arterioles. Veins, on the other hand are vessels that carries blood toward the heart. It contains the deoxygenated blood. Small veins are called venules. Often, very large venous spaces are called sinuses. Lastly, capillaries are microscopic vessels that carry blood from small arteries to small veins(arterioles to venules) and back to the heart . The walls of the blood vessels, the arteries and vein have three main layers: tunica adventitia, tunica media and tunica intima. Tunica adventitia which is a fibrous type of vessel is a connective tissue that helps hold vessels open and prevents tearing of the vessel wall during body movement. tunica media is a smooth muscle, sandwiched together with a layer of elastic connective tissue. It permits changes of the blood vessel diameter. it allows the constriction and dilation of the vessels. Tunica intima is made up of endothelium that is continuous with the endothelium that lines the heart. in arteries, it provides a smooth lining. however in veins it maintains the one way flow of the blood . the endothelium, which makes up the thin coat of the capillary, is important because the thinness of the capillary wall allows the exchange of materials between the blood plasma and the interstitial fluid of the surrounding tissues. There are two circulatory routes of blood as it flows through the blood vessels: the systemic and the pulmonary circulation. in systemic circulation, blood flows from the left ventricle of the heart through blood vessels to all parts of the body(except gas exchange tissues of lungs) and back to the atrium. in pulmonary circulation on the other hand, venous blood moves from the right atrium to right ventricle to pulmonary artery to lung arterioles and capillaries where gases exchanged; oxygenated blood returns to the left atrium via pulmonary veins; from left atrium, blood enters the left ventricle.
Vasomotor Control Mechanism Blood distribution patterns, as well as BP can be influence by factors that control changes in the diameter of arterioles. Such factor might be said to constitute the vasomotor control mechanism. Like most physiological control mechanism, it consists of many parts. an area in the medulla called vasomotor center/vasoconstrictor center will, when stimulated initiate an impulse outflow via sympathetic fibers that ends in smooth muscle surrounding resistance vessels, arterioles and veins of the blood reservior'' causing their constriction thus the vasomotor control mechanism plays an important role both in the maintenance of the general BP and in the distribution of blood to areas of special need. Venous return of the blood Venous return refers to the amount of blood that is returned to the heart by the way of veins. various factors influence venous return, including the operation of venous pumps that maintains the pressure gradients necessary to keep blood moving into the central veins and from there the atria of the heart. Changes in the total volume of blood vessels can also alter the venous return. The return of venous blood to the heart can be influenced by the factors that change the total volume of blood in the circulatory pathway. Stated simple, the more the total volume of blood, the greater the volume of blood returned to the heart. The mechanism that change the total blood volume most quickly, making them most useful in maintaining constancy of blood flow, are those that cause water to quickly move into the plasma or out of the plasma. Most of the mechanisms that accomplish such changes in plasma volume operate by altering the body's retention of the water. The primary mechanism for altering the water retention in the body-they are the endocrine reflexes in the body. One is the ADH mechanism is released in the neurohypophysis and acts on the kidneys in a way that reduces the amount if water lost by the body. ADH does this by increasing the amount of water that kidney reabsorb from urine before the urine is excreted from the body. The more ADH is secreted, the more water will be reabsorb into the blood, and the greater the blood plasma volume will become. Another mechanism that changes the blood plasma volume is the rennin angiotensin mechanism of aldosterone secretion. Renin is an enzyme that is released when the blood pressure in the kidney is low. renin triggers a series of events that leads to the secretion of aldosteron. Aldosterone promotes sodium retention by the kidney, which in tum stimulates the osmotic flow of water to the kidney tubules back into the blood plasma-but only when ADH is present to permit the movement of water. Thus, low blood pressure increases the secretion of aldosterone, which in tim stimulates the retention of water and thus an increase in blood volume. Another effect of reninangiotensinis the vasoconstriction of blood vessels caused by an intermediate compound called angiotensin II. This complements the volume-increasing effects of the mechanism and thus also promotes an increase in overall blood flow. precision of blood volume control contributes to the precision on controlling venous return, which in return yields to the precise overall control of blood circulation. Exocrine System The exocrine system's main function is to regulate the volume and composition of body fluids and excrete unwanted materials, but it is not the only system in the body that is able to excrete unnecessary substances.
The kidneys resemble the lima beans in shape. the average-sized kidney measures around 11cm by 7cm by 3cm. the left kidney is often larger than the right. The kidneys are highly vascular organs. Approximately, one-fifth if the blood pumped from the heart goes to the kidneys. The kidneys process blood plasma and form urine from waste to be excreted and removed from the body. These functions are vital because they maintain the homeostatic balance of the body. The kidneys maintain the fluid-electrolyte and acid-base balance. In addition, they also influence the rate of secretion of the hormones ADH and aldosterone. Microscopic functional units called nephrons make up the buld of the kidney. The nephron is uniquely suited to its function of blood plasma processing and urine function. A nephron contains certain structures in which fluids flows through them and they are as follows: renal corpuscle, bowman's capsule, proximal convulted tubule, loop of henle, distal convoluted tubule and the collecting tube. The bowman's capsule is a cup-shaped mouth of a nephron. it is usually formed by two layers of epithelial cells. fluids, electrolytes and waste products that pass through the porous glomerular capillaries and enter the space that constitute the glomerular filtrate, which will be processed in the nephron to form urine. The glomerulus is the body's well-known capillary network and is surely one of the most important ones for survival. Glomerulus and bowman's capsule together are called renal corpuscle. The permeability of the glomerular endothelium increases sufficiently to allow plasma proteins to filter out into the capsule. Endocrine System The endocrine system performs their regulatory functions by means of chemical messenger sent to specific cells. The endocrine system, secreting cells send hormones by way of the bloodstream to signal specific target cells throughout the body. Hormones diffuse into the blood to be carried to nearly every point in the body. The endocrine glands secrete their products, hormones, directly into the blood. There are two classifications of hormones: steroid hormones and non-steriod hormones. The steroid hormones which are manufactured by the endocrine cells fro, cholesterol, is an important lipid in the human body. Non-steroid hormones are synthesized primarily from amino acids rather from the cholesterol. Non-steroids hormones are further subdivided in two: protein hormones and glycoprotein hormones.
Pathophysiology Whereas all hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (pre-eclampsia, essential hypertension, 'secondary' hypertension) share high blood pressure as a common theme ( probably mediated by inappropriate vasoconstriction), pre-eclampsia is the only disorder with multisystem abnormalities. The triad of physiological derangements in pre-eclampsia is: 1. Intense vasospasm 2. Local or disseminated intravascular coagulation 3. Plasma volume contraction Although the cause of pre-ec is unknown the placenta appears to be the culprit-delivery if the placenta is the only known cure and the disorder is more frequent with large placental mass. Example: Twins or abnormal placenta. Current hypotheses propose release of a toxic factor from the placenta which alters maternal endothelial cell function, though this is unproven. Vasospasm follows due to excess production or sensitivity to vasoconstrictors (angiotensin II, serotonin and endothelin are the most popular candidates) and decreased production or sensitivity to vasodilators (prostacyclin and nitric oxide are the current candidates). Intravascular coagulation is associated with platelet activation, thrombocytopenia and often reduced production of anti-thrombin III. Plasma volume contraction follows vasospasm, capillary leakage and in more severe cases, reduction in plasma osmotic pressures. There is redistribution of fluid from the intravascular to interstitial fluid spaces so that total extra cellular fluid volume remains unaltered. These are important considerations as intravascular volume correction may result in pulmonary edema when capillary permeability is high and plasma osmotic pressure low. The result if this triad of abnormal physiology is organ hypoperfusion. System most commonly affected are the kidney ( manifested by reduced GFR, proteinuria, hyperuricaemia and occasionally oliguria) the liver ( manifested by elevated aspartate transaminase with or without epigastric and right upper quadrant pain), the brain(manifested most commonly by transient visual scotomata due to occipital lobe ischemia, severe headaches and rarely convulsions, ex. eclampsia) and the placenta(manifested by intrauterine fetal growth retardation and less commonly placental abruption or fetal death in utero). peripheral edema is common but is not a useful clinical sign; pulmonary edema is rare and when it occurs usually teratogenic.