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Physiology - NEETMDS- courses
NEET MDS Lessons
Physiology

A heart rate that is persistently greater than 100bpm is termed tachycardia. A heart rate that is persistantly lower than 60 pulse per min  is termed bradycardia. Let's examine some factors that could cause a change in heart rate:

  • Increased heart rate can be caused by:
    • Increased output of the cardioacceleratory center. In other words, greater activity of sympathetic nerves running to the heart and a greater release of norepinephrine on the heart.
    • Decreased output of the cardioinhibitory center. In other words, less vagus nerve activity and a decrease in the release of acetylcholine on the heart.
    • Increased release of the hormone epinephrine by the adrenal glands.
    • Nicotine.
    • Caffeine.
    • Hyperthyroidism - i.e., an overactive thyroid gland. This would lead to an increased amount of the hormone thyroxine in the blood.
  • Decreased heart rate can be caused by:
    • Decreased activity of the cardioacceleratory center.
    • Increased activity of the cardioinhibitory center.
    • Many others.

HEART DISORDERS

  1. Pump failure => Alters pressure (flow) =>alters oxygen carrying capacity.
    1. Renin release (Juxtaglomerular cells) Kidney
    2. Converts Angiotensinogen => Angiotensin I
    3. In lungs Angiotensin I Converted => Angiotensin II
    4. Angiotensin II = powerful vasoconstrictor (raises pressure, increases afterload)
      1. stimulates thirst
      2. stimulates adrenal cortex to release Aldosterone
        (Sodium retention, potassium loss)
      3. stimulates kidney directly to reabsorb Sodium
      4. releases ADH from Posterior Pituitary
  2. Myocardial Infarction

     

    1. Myocardial Cells die from lack of Oxygen
    2. Adjacent vessels (collateral) dilate to compensate
    3. Intracellular Enzymes leak from dying cells (Necrosis)
      1. Creatine Kinase CK (Creatine Phosphokinase) 3 forms
        1. One isoenzyme = exclusively Heart (MB)
        2. CK-MB blood levels found 2-5 hrs, peak in 24 hrs
        3. Lactic Dehydrogenase found 6-10 hours after. points less clearly to infarction
      2. Serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT)
        1. Found 6 hrs after infarction, peaks 24-48 hrs at 2 to 15 times normal,
        2. SGOT returns to normal after 3-4 days
    4. Myocardium weakens = Decreased CO & SV (severe - death)
    5. Infarct heal by fibrous repair
    6. Hypertrophy of undamaged myocardial cells
      1. Increased contractility to restore normal CO
      2. Improved by exercise program
    7. Prognosis
      1. 10% uncomplicated recovery
      2. 20% Suddenly fatal
      3. Rest MI not fatal immediately, 15% will die from related causes
  3. Congenital heart disease (Affect oxygenation of blood)
    1. Septal defects
    2. Ductus arteriosus
    3. Valvular heart disease
      1. Stenosis = cusps, fibrotic & thickened, Sometimes fused, can not open
      2. Regurgitation = cusps, retracted, Do not close, blood moves backwards

The Types of muscle cells. There are three types, red, white, and intermediate.

White Fibers

Fast twitch

Large diameter, used for speed and strength.

Depends on the phosphagen system and on glycolysis-lactic acid.

Stores glycogen for conversion to glucose.

Fewer blood vessels.

Little or no myoglobin.

Red Fibers

Slow twitch

Small diameter, used for endurance.

Depends on aerobic metabolism.

Utilize fats as well as glucose.

Little glycogen storage.

Many blood vessels and much myoglobin give this muscle its reddish appearance.

 

Intermediate Fibers: sometimes called "fast twitch red", these fibers have faster action but rely more on aerobic metabolism and have more endurance. Most muscles are mixtures of the different types. Muscle fiber types and their relative abundance cannot be varied by training, although there is some evidence that prior to maturation of the muscular system the emphasis on certain activities can influence their development

Lung volumes and capacities: 
I. Lung`s volumes
1. Tidal volume (TV) : is the volume of air m which is inspired and expired during one quiet breathing . It equals to 500 ml.
 

2. Inspiratory reserve volume (IRV) : The volume of air that could be inspired over and beyond the tidal volume. It equals to 3000 ml of air.
 

3. Expiratory reserve volume (ERV) : A volume of air that could be forcefully expired after the end of quiet tidal volume. It is about 1100 ml of air.
 

4. Residual volume (RV) : the extra volume of air that may remain in the lung after the forceful expiration . It is about 1200 ml of air.
 

5. Minute volume : the volume of air that is inspired or expired within one minute. It is equal to multiplying of respiratory rate by tidal volume = 12X500= 6000 ml.
It is in female  lesser than that in male.
II. Lung`s capacities :
1. Inspiratory capacity: TV + IRV
2. Vital capacity : TV+IRV+ERV
3. Total lung capacity : TV+IRV+ERV+RV

Cardiac Control: The Cardiac Center in the medulla.

Outputs:

The cardioacceleratory center sends impulses through the sympathetic nervous system in the cardiac nerves. These fibers innervate the SA node and AV node and the ventricular myocardium. Effects on the SA and AV nodes are an increase in depolarization rate by reducing the resting membrane polarization. Effect on the myocardium is to increase contractility thus increasing force and therefore volume of contraction. Sympathetic stimulation increases both rate and volume of the heart.

The cardioinhibitory center sends impulses through the parasympathetic division, the vagus nerve, to the SA and AV nodes, but only sparingly to the atrial myocardium, and not at all to ventricular myocardium. Its effect is to slow the rate of depolarization by increasing the resting potential, i.e. hyperpolarization.

The parasympathetic division controls the heart at rest, keeping its rhythm slow and regular. This is referred to as normal vagal tone. Parasympathetic effects are inhibited and the sympathetic division exerts its effects during stress, i.e. exercise, emotions, "fight or flight" response, and temperature.

Inputs to the Cardiac Center:

Baroreceptors in the aortic and carotid sinuses. The baroreceptor reflex is responsible for the moment to moment maintenance of normal blood pressure.

Higher brain (hypothalamus): stimulates the center in response to exercise, emotions, "fight or flight", temperature.

Intrinsic Controls of the Heart:

Right Heart Reflex - Pressoreceptors (stretch receptors) in the right atrium respond to stretch due to increased venous return. The reflex acts through a short neural circuit to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system resulting in increased rate and force of contraction. This regulates output to input

The Frank-Starling Law - (Starling's Law of the Heart) - Like skeletal muscle the myocardium has a length tension curve which results in an optimum level of stretch producing the maximum force of contraction. A healthy heart normally operates at a stretch less than this optimum level and when exercise causes increased venous return and increased stretch of the myocardium, the result is increased force of contraction to automatically pump the increased volume out of the heart. I.e. the heart automatically compensates its output to its input.

An important relationship in cardiac output is this one:

Blood Flow =  D Pressure / Resistance to Blood Flow      

Regulation of Blood Pressure by Hormones

The Kidney

One of the functions of the kidney is to monitor blood pressure and take corrective action if it should drop. The kidney does this by secreting the proteolytic enzyme renin.

  • Renin acts on angiotensinogen, a plasma peptide, splitting off a fragment containing 10 amino acids called angiotensin I.
  • angiotensin I is cleaved by a peptidase secreted by blood vessels called angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) — producing  angiotensin II, which contains 8 amino acids.
  • angiotensin II
    • constricts the walls of arterioles closing down capillary beds;
    • stimulates the proximal tubules in the kidney to reabsorb sodium ions;
    • stimulates the adrenal cortex to release aldosterone. Aldosterone causes the kidneys to reclaim still more sodium and thus water.
    • increases the strength of the heartbeat;
    • stimulates the pituitary to release the antidiuretic hormone (ADH, also known as arginine vasopressin).

All of these actions, which are mediated by its binding to G-protein-coupled receptors on the target cells, lead to an increase in blood pressure.

The Kidneys

The kidneys are the primary functional organ of the renal system.

They are essential in homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and the regulation of blood pressure (by maintaining salt and water balance).

They serve the body as a natural filter of the blood and remove wastes that are excreted through the urine.

They are also responsible for the reabsorption of water, glucose, and amino acids, and will maintain the balance of these molecules in the body.

In addition, the kidneys produce hormones including calcitriol, erythropoietin, and the enzyme renin, which are involved in renal and hemotological physiological processes.

Anatomical Location

The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped, brown organs about the size of your fist. They are covered by the renal capsule, which is a tough capsule of fibrous connective tissue.

Right kidney being slightly lower than the left, and left kidney being located slightly more medial than the right.

The right kidneys lie  just below the diaphragm and posterior to the liver, the left below the diaphragm and posterior to the spleen.

Resting on top of each kidney is an adrenal gland (adrenal meaning on top of renal), which are involved in some renal system processes despite being a primarily endocrine organ.

They are considered retroperitoneal, which means that they lie behind the peritoneum, the membrane lining of the abdominal cavity.

The renal artery branches off from the lower part of the aorta and provides the blood supply to the kidneys.

 Renal veins take blood away from the kidneys into the inferior vena cava.

The ureters are structures that come out of the kidneys, bringing urine downward into the bladder.

Internal Anatomy of the Kidneys

There are three major regions of the kidney:

1.         Renal cortex

2.         Renal medulla

3.         Renal pelvis

The renal cortex is a space between the medulla and the outer capsule.

The renal medulla contains the majority of the length of nephrons, the main functional component of the kidney that filters fluid from blood.

The renal pelvis connects the kidney with the circulatory and nervous systems from the rest of the body.

Renal Cortex

The kidneys are surrounded by a renal cortex

The cortex provides a space for arterioles and venules from the renal artery and vein, as well as the glomerular capillaries, to perfuse the nephrons of the kidney. Erythropotein, a hormone necessary for the synthesis of new red blood cells, is also produced in the renal cortex.

Renal Medulla

The medulla is the inner region of the parenchyma of the kidney. The medulla consists of multiple pyramidal tissue masses, called the renal pyramids, which are triangle structures that contain a dense network of nephrons.

At one end of each nephron, in the cortex of the kidney, is a cup-shaped structure called the Bowman's capsule. It surrounds a tuft of capillaries called the glomerulus that carries blood from the renal arteries into the nephron, where plasma is filtered through the capsule.

After entering the capsule, the filtered fluid flows along the proximal convoluted tubule to the loop of Henle and then to the distal convoluted tubule and the collecting ducts, which flow into the ureter. Each of the different components of the nephrons are selectively permeable to different molecules, and enable the complex regulation of water and ion concentrations in the body.

Renal Pelvis

The renal pelvis contains the hilium. The hilum is the concave part of the bean-shape where blood vessels and nerves enter and exit the kidney; it is also the point of exit for the ureters—the urine-bearing tubes that exit the kidney and empty into the urinary bladder. The renal pelvis connects the kidney to the rest of the body.

Supply of Blood and Nerves to the Kidneys

•  The renal arteries branch off of the abdominal aorta and supply the kidneys with blood. The arterial supply of the kidneys varies from person to person, and there may be one or more renal arteries to supply each kidney.

•  The renal veins are the veins that drain the kidneys and connect them to the inferior vena cava.

•  The kidney and the nervous system communicate via the renal plexus. The sympathetic nervous system will trigger vasoconstriction and reduce renal blood flow, while parasympathetic nervous stimulation will trigger vasodilation and increased blood flow.

•  Afferent arterioles branch into the glomerular capillaries, while efferent arterioles take blood away from the glomerular capillaries and into the interlobular capillaries that provide oxygen to the kidney.

•  renal vein

The veins that drain the kidney and connect the kidney to the inferior vena cava.

•  renal artery

These arise off the side of the abdominal aorta, immediately below the superior mesenteric artery, and supply the kidneys with blood.

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