Blood Pressure

Blood moves through the arteries, arterioles, and capillaries because of the force created by the contraction of the ventricles.

Blood pressure in the arteries.

The surge of blood that occurs at each contraction is transmitted through the elastic walls of the entire arterial system where it can be detected as the pulse. Even during the brief interval when the heart is relaxed — called diastole — there is still pressure in the arteries. When the heart contracts — called systole — the pressure increases.

Blood pressure is expressed as two numbers, e.g., 120/80.

Blood pressure in the capillaries

The pressure of arterial blood is largely dissipated when the blood enters the capillaries. Capillaries are tiny vessels with a diameter just about that of a red blood cell (7.5 µm). Although the diameter of a single capillary is quite small, the number of capillaries supplied by a single arteriole is so great that the total cross-sectional area available for the flow of blood is increased. Therefore, the pressure of the blood as it enters the capillaries decreases.

Blood pressure in the veins

When blood leaves the capillaries and enters the venules and veins, little pressure remains to force it along. Blood in the veins below the heart is helped back up to the heart by the muscle pump. This is simply the squeezing effect of contracting muscles on the veins running through them. One-way flow to the heart is achieved by valves within the veins

Exchanges Between Blood and Cells

With rare exceptions, our blood does not come into direct contact with the cells it nourishes. As blood enters the capillaries surrounding a tissue space, a large fraction of it is filtered into the tissue space. It is this interstitial or extracellular fluid (ECF) that brings to cells all of their requirements and takes away their products. The number and distribution of capillaries is such that probably no cell is ever farther away than 50 µm from a capillary.

When blood enters the arteriole end of a capillary, it is still under pressure produced by the contraction of the ventricle. As a result of this pressure, a substantial amount of water and some plasma proteins filter through the walls of the capillaries into the tissue space.

Thus fluid, called interstitial fluid, is simply blood plasma minus most of the proteins. (It has the same composition and is formed in the same way as the nephric filtrate in kidneys.)

Interstitial fluid bathes the cells in the tissue space and substances in it can enter the cells by diffusion or active transport. Substances, like carbon dioxide, can diffuse out of cells and into the interstitial fluid.

Near the venous end of a capillary, the blood pressure is greatly reduced .Here another force comes into play. Although the composition of interstitial fluid is similar to that of blood plasma, it contains a smaller concentration of proteins than plasma and thus a somewhat greater concentration of water. This difference sets up an osmotic pressure. Although the osmotic pressure is small, it is greater than the blood pressure at the venous end of the capillary. Consequently, the fluid reenters the capillary here.

Control of the Capillary Beds

An adult human has been estimated to have some 60,000 miles of capillaries with a total surface area of some 800–1000 m². The total volume of this system is roughly 5 liters, the same as the total volume of blood. However, if the heart and major vessels are to be kept filled, all the capillaries cannot be filled at once. So a continual redirection of blood from organ to organ takes place in response to the changing needs of the body. During vigorous exercise, for example, capillary beds in the skeletal muscles open at the expense of those in the viscera. The reverse occurs after a heavy meal.

The walls of arterioles are encased in smooth muscle. Constriction of arterioles decreases blood flow into the capillary beds they supply while dilation has the opposite effect. In time of danger or other stress, for example, the arterioles supplying the skeletal muscles will be dilated while the bore of those supplying the digestive organs will decrease. These actions are carried out by

• the autonomic nervous system.
• local controls in the capillary beds

Red Blood Cells (erythrocytes)

• Women average about 4.8 million of these cells per cubic millimeter (mm³; which is the same as a microliter [µl]) of blood.
• Men average about 5.4 x 10⁶ per µl.
• These values can vary over quite a range depending on such factors as health and altitude.
• RBC precursors mature in the bone marrow closely attached to a macrophage.
• They manufacture hemoglobin until it accounts for some 90% of the dry weight of the cell.

• The nucleus is squeezed out of the cell and is ingested by the macrophage.

RBC have characteristic biconcave shape

Thus RBCs are terminally differentiated; that is, they can never divide. They live about 120 days and then are ingested by phagocytic cells in the liver and spleen. Most of the iron in their hemoglobin is reclaimed for reuse. The remainder of the heme portion of the molecule is degraded into bile pigments and excreted by the liver. Some 3 million RBCs die and are scavenged by the liver each second.

Red blood cells are responsible for the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

The nephron of the kidney is involved in the regulation of water and soluble substances in blood.

A Nephron

A nephron is the basic structural and functional unit of the kidneys that regulates water and soluble substances in the blood by filtering the blood, reabsorbing what is needed, and excreting the rest as urine.

 Its function is vital for homeostasis of blood volume, blood pressure, and plasma osmolarity.

It is regulated by the neuroendocrine system by hormones such as antidiuretic hormone, aldosterone, and parathyroid hormone.

The Glomerulus

The glomerulus is a capillary tuft that receives its blood supply from an afferent arteriole of the renal circulation. Here, fluid and solutes are filtered out of the blood and into the space made by Bowman's capsule.

A group of specialized cells known as juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA) are located around the afferent arteriole where it enters the renal corpuscle. The JGA secretes an enzyme called renin, due to a variety of stimuli, and it is involved in the process of blood volume homeostasis.

The Bowman's capsule surrounds the glomerulus. It is composed of visceral (simple squamous epithelial cells; inner) and parietal (simple squamous epithelial cells; outer) layers.

Red blood cells and large proteins, such as serum albumins, cannot pass through the glomerulus under normal circumstances. However, in some injuries they may be able to pass through and can cause blood and protein content to enter the urine, which is a sign of problems in the kidney.

Proximal Convoluted Tubule

The proximal tubule is the first site of water reabsorption into the bloodstream, and the site where the majority of water and salt reabsorption takes place. Water reabsorption in the proximal convoluted tubule occurs due to both passive diffusion across the basolateral membrane, and active transport from Na+/K+/ATPase pumps that actively transports sodium across the basolateral membrane.

Water and glucose follow sodium through the basolateral membrane via an osmotic gradient, in a process called co-transport. Approximately 2/3rds of water in the nephron and 100% of the glucose in the nephron are reabsorbed by cotransport in the proximal convoluted tubule.

Fluid leaving this tubule generally is unchanged due to the equivalent water and ion reabsorption, with an osmolarity (ion concentration) of 300 mOSm/L, which is the same osmolarity as normal plasma.

The Loop of Henle

The loop of Henle is a U-shaped tube that consists of a descending limb and ascending limb. It transfers fluid from the proximal to the distal tubule. The descending limb is highly permeable to water but completely impermeable to ions, causing a large amount of water to be reabsorbed, which increases fluid osmolarity to about 1200 mOSm/L. In contrast, the ascending limb of Henle's loop is impermeable to water but highly permeable to ions, which causes a large drop in the osmolarity of fluid passing through the loop, from 1200 mOSM/L to 100 mOSm/L.

Distal Convoluted Tubule and Collecting Duct

The distal convoluted tubule and collecting duct is the final site of reabsorption in the nephron. Unlike the other components of the nephron, its permeability to water is variable depending on a hormone stimulus to enable the complex regulation of blood osmolarity, volume, pressure, and pH.

Normally, it is impermeable to water and permeable to ions, driving the osmolarity of fluid even lower. However, anti-diuretic hormone (secreted from the pituitary gland as a part of homeostasis) will act on the distal convoluted tubule to increase the permeability of the tubule to water to increase water reabsorption. This example results in increased blood volume and increased blood pressure. Many other hormones will induce other important changes in the distal convoluted tubule that fulfill the other homeostatic functions of the kidney.

The collecting duct is similar in function to the distal convoluted tubule and generally responds the same way to the same hormone stimuli. It is, however, different in terms of histology. The osmolarity of fluid through the distal tubule and collecting duct is highly variable depending on hormone stimulus. After passage through the collecting duct, the fluid is brought into the ureter, where it leaves the kidney as urine.

Heart sounds

Heart sounds are a result of beating heart and resultant blood flow . that could be detected by a stethoscope during auscultation . Auscultation is a part of physical examination that doctors have to practice them perfectly.
Before discussion the origin and nature of the heart sounds we have to distinguish between the heart sounds and hurt murmurs. Heart murmurs are pathological noises that results from abnormal blood flow in the heart or blood vessels.
Physiologically , blood flow has a laminar pattern , which means that blood flows in form of layers , where the central layer is the most rapid . Laminar blood flow could be turned into turbulent one .

Turbulent blood flow is a result of stenotic ( narrowed ) valves or blood vessels , insufficient valves , roughened vessels` wall or endocardium ,  and many diseases . The turbulent blood flow causes noisy murmurs inside or outside the heart.

Heart sounds ( especially first and second sounds ) are mainly a result of closure of the valves of the heart . While the third sound is a result of vibration of ventricular wall and the leaflets of the opened AV valves after rapid inflow of blood from the atria to ventricles . 

Third heart sound is physiologic in children but pathological in adults.

The four heart sound is a result of the atrial systole and vibration of the AV valves , due to blood rush during atrial systole . It is inaudible neither in adults nor in children . It is just detectable by the phonocardiogram .

Characteristic of heart sounds :

1. First heart sound  (S1 , lub ) : a soft and low pitch sound, caused by closure of AV valves.Usually has two components ( M1( mitral ) and T1 ( tricuspid ). Normally M1 preceads T1.

2. Second heart sound ( S2 , dub) : sharp and high pitch sound . caused by closure of semilunar valves. It also has two components A2 ( aortic) and P2 ( pulmonary) . A2 preceads P2.

3. Third heart sound (S3) : low pitched sound.

4. Fourth heart sound ( S4) very low pitched sound.

As we notice : the first three sounds are related to ventricular activity , while the fourth heart sound is related to atrial activity.
Closure of valves is not the direct cause for heart sounds , but sharp blocking of blood of backward returning of blood by the closing valve is the direct cause.
 

The Posterior Lobe

The posterior lobe of the pituitary releases two hormones, both synthesized in the hypothalamus, into the circulation.

• Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH).
  ADH is a peptide of 9 amino acids. It is also known as arginine vasopressin. ADH acts on the collecting ducts of the kidney to facilitate the reabsorption of water into the blood.
  • A deficiency of ADH
    • leads to excessive loss of urine, a condition known as diabetes  nsipidus.
• Oxytocin
  Oxytocin is a peptide of 9 amino acids. Its principal actions are:
  • stimulating contractions of the uterus at the time of birth
  • stimulating release of milk when the baby begins to suckle

Graded Contractions and Muscle Metabolism

The muscle twitch is a single response to a single stimulus. Muscle twitches vary in length according to the type of muscle cells involved. .

Fast twitch muscles such as those which move the eyeball have twitches which reach maximum contraction in 3 to 5 ms (milliseconds).  [superior eye] and [lateral eye] These muscles were mentioned earlier as also having small numbers of cells in their motor units for precise control.

The cells in slow twitch muscles like the postural muscles (e.g. back muscles, soleus) have twitches which reach maximum tension in 40 ms or so.

 The muscles which exhibit most of our body movements have intermediate twitch lengths of 10 to 20 ms.

The latent period, the period of a few ms encompassing the chemical and physical events preceding actual contraction.

This is not the same as the absolute refractory period, the even briefer period when the sarcolemma is depolarized and cannot be stimulated. The relative refractory period occurs after this when the sarcolemma is briefly hyperpolarized and requires a greater than normal stimulus

Following the latent period is the contraction phase in which the shortening of the sarcomeres and cells occurs. Then comes the relaxation phase, a longer period because it is passive, the result of recoil due to the series elastic elements of the muscle.

We do not use the muscle twitch as part of our normal muscle responses. Instead we use graded contractions, contractions of whole muscles which can vary in terms of their strength and degree of contraction. In fact, even relaxed muscles are constantly being stimulated to produce muscle tone, the minimal graded contraction possible.

Muscles exhibit graded contractions in two ways:

1) Quantal Summation or Recruitment - this refers to increasing the number of cells contracting. This is done experimentally by increasing the voltage used to stimulate a muscle, thus reaching the thresholds of more and more cells. In the human body quantal summation is accomplished by the nervous system, stimulating increasing numbers of cells or motor units to increase the force of contraction.

2) Wave Summation ( frequency summation) and Tetanization- this results from stimulating a muscle cell before it has relaxed from a previous stimulus. This is possible because the contraction and relaxation phases are much longer than the refractory period. This causes the contractions to build on one another producing a wave pattern or, if the stimuli are high frequency, a sustained contraction called tetany or tetanus. (The term tetanus is also used for an illness caused by a bacterial toxin which causes contracture of the skeletal muscles.) This form of tetanus is perfectly normal and in fact is the way you maintain a sustained contraction.

Treppe is not a way muscles exhibit graded contractions. It is a warmup phenomenon in which when muscle cells are initially stimulated when cold, they will exhibit gradually increasing responses until they have warmed up. The phenomenon is due to the increasing efficiency of the ion gates as they are repeatedly stimulated. Treppe can be differentiated from quantal summation because the strength of stimulus remains the same in treppe, but increases in quantal summation

Length-Tension Relationship: Another way in which the tension of a muscle can vary is due to the length-tension relationship. This relationship expresses the characteristic that within about 10% the resting length of the muscle, the tension the muscle exerts is maximum. At lengths above or below this optimum length the tension decreases.