AUTOREGULATION

SUMMARY

1. The capacity for tissues to regulate their own blood flow (BF) is termed autoregulation.
2. Most vascular beds have an intrinsic capacity to compensate for moderate changes in perfusion pressure by altering vascular resistance so BF remains constant.

MECHANISMS
4. Myogenic autoregulation: contractile response of smooth muscles to stretch. As pressure rises, vessels are stretched and smooth muscles surrounding vessels contract.
5. Vasodilator autoregulation: vasodilator substances accumulate in active tissues, when BF increases they are washed away.

Reference(s)

Barrett, K.E., Barman, S.M., Boitano, S., Brooks, H.L., Weitz, M., Brian Patrick Kearns, Ganong, W.F. and Mcgraw-Hill Education (Firm (2016). Ganong’s review of medical physiology. 25th ed. New York: Mcgraw Hill Education.
Hall, J.E. and Hall, M.E. (2020). Guyton And Hall Textbook Of Medical Physiology. 14th ed. S.L.: Elsevier - Health Science.
West, J.B. and Luks, A.M. (2021). West’s Pulmonary Pathophysiology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.