Reflex control of regional circulations in humans

doi:10.1016/0165-1838(84)90069-9

Journal of the Autonomic Nervous System

Volume 11, Issue 2, September 1984, Pages 101-114

Journal of the Auton...

https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1838(84)90069-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

This study of autonomic control of the peripheral vascular system deals with reflex control of regional circulations, vasoconstriction in the upright posture, disturbances in the normal regulation caused by dysautonomia and spinal cord transection, regional vasomotor responses to thermal stress, and the overall sympathetic nerve activity in humans under stress. Data presented describe local and overall reactions that occur in normal and abnormal states. In varieties of stresses, humans adjust by increasing sympathetic nerve outflow in a highly predictable fashion. However, powerful local or humoral influences, such as those generated by hypoxia, hemorrhage, etc., are pitted against neurogenic vasoconstriction so that prediction of responses is very difficult.

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Sympathetic regulation during thermal stress in human aging and disease
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Citation Excerpt :
Passive heating has been reported to have little effect on muscle blood flow (Edholm et al., 1956; Heinonen et al., 2011; Roddie et al., 1956) despite the dramatic increase in MSNA. However, the net systemic increase in sympathetic activation is a crucial determinant of the blood flow redistribution that occurs during heat stress (Rowell, 1984). Several modulators of MSNA have been proposed to contribute to the noted sympathoexcitation during passive heat stress, including decreased body water content, baroreceptor unloading, and increased ventilation, all of which have been demonstrated to independently increase MSNA (Rabbitts et al., 2009; Seals et al., 1993; Sundlof and Wallin, 1978a).
Humans control their core temperature within a narrow range via precise adjustments of the autonomic nervous system. In response to changing core and/or skin temperature, several critical thermoregulatory reflex effector responses are initiated and include shivering, sweating, and changes in cutaneous blood flow. Cutaneous vasomotor adjustments, mediated by modulations in sympathetic nerve activity (SNA), aid in the maintenance of thermal homeostasis during cold and heat stress since (1) they serve as the first line of defense of body temperature and are initiated before other thermoregulatory effectors, and (2) they are on the efferent arm of non-thermoregulatory reflex systems, aiding in the maintenance of blood pressure and organ perfusion. This review article highlights the sympathetic responses of humans to thermal stress, with a specific focus on primary aging as well as impairments that occur in both heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Age- and pathology-related changes in efferent muscle and skin SNA during cold and heat stress, measured directly in humans using microneurography, are discussed.
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Depending on their amplitude and frequency, vibrations may facilitate bleeding and worsen the prognosis of patients with pelvic fractures transported by helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS). We measured the range of frequencies and amplitudes of forced vibrations produced by the helicopter used by the HEMS of the Italian Friuli Venezia Giulia region on the pelvis of transported persons. We performed 3 flight tests with 3 different volunteers (mass 70, 80, and 90 kg, respectively) loaded on the helicopter's stretcher and recorded the amplitudes and frequencies of vibrations through a triaxis sensor placed on the HEMS stretcher in the pelvis area. The flight profile planned was identical for each of the 3 iterations. Over the whole flight, the frequencies of vibration were between 26.4 and 53.5 Hz, and the greastest amplitude was 0.035 mm. The vibrations recorded in the helicopter may facilitate bleeding in unstable fractures. In the management of patients with pelvic fractures, HEMS crews should provide prehospital care that includes the use of specific splinting devices in addition to the spinal board, which allows an early immobilization of fractures and the limitation of pelvic motion.
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Citation Excerpt :
As stated earlier, it is thought that in humans, BP in the upright position is maintained primarily by vasoconstriction of the skeletal muscle, skin, splanchnic vessels, and renal vessels. Rowell and colleagues34,35 used forearm plethysmography and dye infusion techniques to demonstrate that at low levels of negative pressure, cardiopulmonary baroreflexes mediated vasoconstriction in the skeletal muscle and skin, whereas at higher levels, carotid and aortic arterial baroreflexes mediated vasoconstriction in the splanchnic and renal vessels. There is clearly some overlap in function between these mechanisms.

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Research paperReflex control of regional circulations in humans

Abstract

J. invest. Derm.

Brain Res.

Carotid and cardiopulmonary baroreceptor control of splanchnic and forearm vascular resistance during venous pooling in man

J. Physiol. (Lond.)

Physiologic adjustments to the standing posture

Bull. Maryland Univ. School Med.

The effect of adrenaline and noradrenaline on hepatic blood flow and splanchnic carbohydrate metabolism in man

J. Physiol. (Lond.)

Hepatic capacitance responses to changes in flow and hepatic venous pressure in dogs

Amer. J. Physiol.

Regulation of the circulation during exercise in man

Physiol. Rev.

Absence of active cutaneous vasodilation associated with congenital absence of sweat glands in man

Amer. J. Physiol.

Effect of epinephrine on pressure, flow, and volume relationships in the systemic circulation of dogs

Circulat. Res.

Renal function during prolonged exercise

Plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline measured by isotope-derivative assay

Danish Med. Bull.

Effect of physical training on cardiovascular adjustments to exercise in man

Physiol. Rev.

Control of cardiac output by regional blood flow distribution

Ann. Biomed. Eng.

Arterial baroreceptor function in differential cardiovascular adjustments induced by central thermal stimulation

Basic Res. Cardiol.

Cardiovascular responses to tilting in tetraplegic man

J. Physiol. (Lond.)

The effect of the upright posture upon hepatic blood flow in normotensive and hypertensive subjects

J. clin. Invest.

Skin and muscle components of forearm blood flow in directly heated resting man

J. Appl. Physiol.

Renal vascular response to heat stress in baboons — role of renin-angiotensin

J. Appl. Physiol.

Splanchnic vasoconstriction in heatstressed men: role of renin-angiotensin system

J. Appl. Physiol.: Respirat. Environ. Exercise Physiol.

Plasma catecholamines, hepatic function and blood flow during hypoxia and exercise in humans

Assessment of sympathetic nervous function in humans from noradrenaline plasma kinetics

Clin. Sci.

Modification of renin and aldosterone response to heat by acclimatization in man

J. Appl. Physiol.: Respirat. Environ. Exercise Physiol.

Bradykinin formation in human skin as a factor in heat vasodilation

J. Physiol. (Lond.)

Relationship between plasma renin activity and attenuated forearm blood flow response to hyperthermia in paraplegic man

Attenuated skin blood flow response to hyperthermia in paraplegic man

J. Appl. Physiol.: Respirat. Environ. Exercise Physiol.

Hormonal and Metabolic Adaptation to Exercise

Local postural vasomotor reflexes arising from the limb veins

Circulat. Res.

Postural changes in the circulation

Sodium and water excretion and renal hemodynamics during lower body negative pressure

J. Appl. Physiol.

The circulation through the skin

Renal clearances during prolonged supine exercise at different loads

J. Appl. Physiol.

Reflex control of vascular capacitance

Regional distribution of blood flow in awake heat-stressed baboons

Amer. J. Physiol.

Enhanced sympathetic nervous activity after intravenous propranolol in ischaemic heart disease: plasma noradrenaline, splanchnic blood flow and mixed venous oxygen saturation at rest and during exercise

Europ. J. clin. Invest.

Local sympathetic reflex mechanism in regulation of blood flow in human subcutaneous adipose tissue

Acta physiol. scand.

Research paper
Reflex control of regional circulations in humans