Blood vessels can feel the shear stress caused by blood flow. When shear stress increases the blood vessel responds and the diameter becomes larger. Thus in short, changes in blood flow might cause blood vessels to change diameter.
Factors that influence resistance to blood flow include the diameter of blood vessels (smaller diameter increases resistance), length of the vessels (longer vessels increase resistance), blood viscosity (thicker blood increases resistance), and turbulence within the blood vessels (increased turbulence increases resistance).
Alcohol acts as a vasodilator, increasing the diameter of blood vessels.
As vessel diameter decreases, blood velocity increases due to the principle of conservation of flow rate. This relationship is described by Poiseuille's law, which states that blood flow is directly proportional to the fourth power of vessel radius. Therefore, smaller vessels result in faster blood flow velocities.
Vasodilation: Widening of blood vessels resulting from relaxation of the muscular wall of the vessels. What widens is actually the diameter of the interior (the lumen) of the vessel. The opposite of vasoconstriction.
The size of blood vessels varies enormously, from a diameter of about 25 mm (1 inch) in the aorta to only 8 μm in the capillaries.
Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels in the body (in terms of diameter), measuring about 20 micrometres (or one cell) across.
High blood hydrostatic pressure can be caused by conditions such as hypertension, heart failure, or kidney disease. These conditions can lead to an increase in the pressure that blood exerts on the walls of blood vessels, which can result in high blood hydrostatic pressure.
The relationship between blood flow through a vessel and the radius of the vessel can be expressed as BF=1/pi r4 (where pi is equal to 3.14.....). So a change in the radius of a vessel has a large effect on the blood flow through the vessel.
Cerebrovascular Disease refers to a group of conditions that come together to collectively affect blood flow to blood vessels in the brain, which can occur from narrowing of blood vessels and even the formation of blood clots.
2 homeostasic
2 homeostasic
No, vasoconstriction would increase peripheral resistance. When blood vessels constrict, the diameter of the blood vessels becomes smaller, which increases resistance to blood flow. This can lead to an increase in blood pressure.