Blood pressure regulation By: Adam, Lisa and Bec

This is Bob, his blood pressure has just decreased because as he has been inhaling too many toxins from his surroundings. What will his body do to bring his blood pressure back to homeostasis? There are two pathways that Voj’s body will follow to maintain his blood pressure, simultaneously working together.

When blood pressure decreases, it results in less pressure on the wall of blood vessels as less blood is being pumped around the body

Baroreceptors located in the arterial walls, detect this decrease in pressure. Oh no! There is low blood pressure

The baroreceptors convey this information to the Central Nervous System Signal travels through the blood to the spinal cord and brain

Here is where the two responses come into play

RESPONSE 1 Nerve impulses are sent from the CNS to the smooth muscle of the arteries, causing them to contract. The contraction of the smooth muscle ensures there is a smaller volume, therefore increasing blood pressure This is called vasoconstriction

RESPONSE 2 Nerve impulses are sent from the CNS to the heart, telling it to beat faster and pump harder Heart output increases Increase in blood pressure is achieved Heart is told to beat faster and harder Message conveyed back through the CNS

And the result? Voj’s blood pressure is increased!