2) Define the term Total Peripheral Resistance (TPR).

Discuss how variation in TPR

helps to regulate arterial blood pressure in both the short and the long term.
advice:
a) this is testing your knowledge and understanding of integrative physiology. You will
need to explain how the regulatory mechanisms work, and the contribution of
variations in TPR to their operation in the body
b) b) note that you have to explain both short and long term regulation mechanisms, and
‘discuss’ means that you need to add some comment (what makes the different
features more suited to a particular time scale, etc)
.
The Total Peripheral Resistance (TPR) is one of many factors the Mean Arterial
Blood Pressure (MABP) depends on. Responsible for the collective resistance that
blood flow meets as it travels across blood vessels; TPR is approximately equal to the
total resistance in arterioles. This is due to the fact that arterioles are the prime
resistance blood vessels in the body. The product of TPR and the Cardiac Output (CO)
of the heart denotes the Mean Arterial Pressure, in essence the mean blood pressure of
a person. Therefore, the MABP and, accordingly, the TPR must be closely regulated.
Physiological regulation commonly involves negative feedback. This requires a
sensor, which detects the controlled variable. The sensors of the MABP (the
controlled variable in question) are baroreceptors found in the carotid sinus and aortic
arch. The baroreceptors detect a drop in MABP as they are constantly firing due to the
Blood pressure pushing on the walls of the arteries.
When Blood pressure drops, firing decreases and the autonomic nervous system
detects low activity of the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves that innervate the
baroreceptors. This will cause an increase in sympathetic nervous activity that
increases cardiac contractibility and increases heart rate, due to the decrease in
parasympathetic nerve activity. It does this by increasing the rate and force of which
the cardiac and smooth muscles contract. An increase in TPR is also caused by
sympathetic nerve stimulation through venoconstriction (the constriction of smooth
cells in the venous walls and therefore a drop in the radius of veins).
An increase in blood pressure increases the firing off baroreceptors, which, once
detected by the autonomic nervous system, causes the opposite effects to the previous
paragraph. The baroreceptor reflex is very important in buffering short-term changes
in blood pressure. These short-term changes include an increase in blood pressure as
blood flow increases in exercise, or when blood pressure falls as blood pools in the
legs of a person who changes from a supine to a standing position.
Long term changes to blood pressure are resultant to changes in total body Na+
and water. A decrease in these will cause a decrease in blood volume and therefore
blood pressure. The opposite effect applies to an increase in total body Na+ and water.
Changes in blood volume are sensed by cardiopulmonary receptors (known also as
low pressure baroreceptors), veno-atrial receptors (found between chambers in the
heart), and atrial receptors (found in the atrial wall). A decrease in receptor
stimulation signals a decrease in blood pressure, which will cause increased secretion
of ADH from the posterior pituitary to stimulate the rapid reabsorption of water in the
collecting tubules of the renal nephrons.
The baroreceptor reflex is also stimulated and consequentially renal arteriolar
constriction occurs, which inhibits the excretion of water and sodium. This occurs due
to the fact that the narrower the renal arteriole, the less water and sodium that is
ultrafiltrated. The renin-angiotensin system in the kidney is stimulated by the reduced
arteriole pressure and causes conversion of Angiotensin I to Angiotensin II by the
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE). Angiotensin II stimulates Aldosterone
secretion, which stimulates Na+ reabsorption, and is furthermore a potent
vasoconstriction, thus increasing the TPR and consequently the MABP.
Whether due to long term changes in MABP or short term changes in MABP, the
Total Peripheral Resistance and Cardiac Output are closely regulated to prevent big
variations in blood pressure. The baroreceptor reflex and the renin-angiotensin system
are important systems in the body and are the basis of many clinical drugs used to
treat Hypertension.