Hemodynamics
Start with the big picture
Blood flow depends on the pressure gradient driving it and the resistance opposing it. Resistance is influenced by vessel length and blood viscosity, and changes especially strongly with vessel radius. Flow patterns may be laminar or turbulent, while vessels arranged in series or parallel affect total resistance differently. Hemodynamics also considers how compliance and elastance relate to pressure changes, and how pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure describe arterial pressure. Additional principles address wall tension, capillary filtration, endothelial responses to shear stress, and the regulation of peripheral resistance. Together, these relationships help explain how blood moves through the circulation and how vascular conditions can alter perfusion.
What you'll learn
- Relate pressure gradient and vascular resistance to blood flow.
- Describe how vessel radius, length, and viscosity influence resistance.
- Distinguish laminar from turbulent flow and identify factors affecting flow patterns.
- Explain how compliance, elastance, and arterial pressures describe vascular behavior.
- Summarize how capillary forces and peripheral resistance affect circulation.
Continue your study
Work through the complete notes and reinforce the topic with the study tools available in the full lesson.
