Blood vessel networks and pressure regulation

how can blood vessels be arranged

In series or in parallel.

• vessels arranged in series, the total resistance to flow is equal to the sum of the resistances in all sections.

• Blood vessels are mostly organised in parallel.

How is resistance kept low

 increasing the number of parallel vessels.

what is a Branching Network

As vessels get smaller from the aorta to capillaries, resistance to blood flow decreases at each branch.

what are the pressure Changes in Circulation

Pressure is high in the arterial system, low in the venous system, with the largest drop across arterioles.

what is Total Peripheral Resistance (TPR)

TPR is the total resistance in the systemic vasculature, calculated as R = P/F, where P is the pressure drop and F is cardiac output.

Total Pulmonary Resistance

Total resistance to flow in the lungs' circulation, calculated similarly to TPR but with mean pulmonary artery pressure minus left atrial pressure.

how is mean arterial pressure determined

Mean arterial pressure (MAP) is determined by cardiac output (CO) multiplied by total peripheral resistance (TPR).

MAP = CO X TPR