Chapter 5:

Physiology of the Circulatory System

Introduction
•Heart of the frog has three chambers, one ventricle and two atria
•Single ventricle with some mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
•Excitation of the frog heart heart is myogenic, that is, contraction of the heart originates within
the muscle itself
•Nervous control of the heart is primarily regulated by medulla of the brain, and the heart is
innervated by both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibers
•Neurotransmitters released by these nerves affect:
• heart rate (chronotropic effects; chronos = time)
• strength of contraction (inotropic effects)
•The heart’s effectiveness as a pump is dependent on:
• Intrinsic controls (within the heart)
• Extrinsic controls (external to the heart)
Baseline Heart Rate
•Heart rate, also known as pulse, is the number of times the heart beats per
minute.
•Baseline heart rate refers to the beats per minute of your heart during rest or
inactivity
•Arrhythmia causes the heart to beat too fast, too slow or with an irregular
rhythm
• Tachycardia is a fast heart rate, defined as above 100 bpm at rest.
• Bradycardia is a slow heart rate, defined as below 60 bpm at rest
Baseline Heart Rate
Baseline Heart Rate
Number of Beats (in Time differential Calculated Heart Heart Rate from
selection) between first and Rate (BPM) Data Pad (BPM)
last beat (sec)

33 30 66 65.33

33 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑠 60 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
× = 66 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒
30 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠 1 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒

• Frog’s Normal Heart rate: 40-50 BPM

• loss of blood -> blood pressure drops -> the heart rate increases
 Effect of Temperature
HOT COLD
Effect of Temperature
Condition Heart Rate (BPM)
Room Temperature 65.53
40°C 76.78
20°C 66.30
• Temperature change exerts its effect on heart rate through influence on the nervous system as
well as directly affecting cardiac metabolism.
•Increase in temperature increases heart rate because it increases permeability of cardiac muscle
cell plasma membranes to passage of ions -> increased contractions -> increased heart rate
•when it is hot, the body must move more blood to the skin to cool it while also maintaining
blood flow to the muscles -> increase heart rate
Starling’s Law of the Heart
Starling’s Law of the Heart
Condition Heart Contractile Force (N)
Baseline (no 0.0009
stretch)
Stretch 1 0.0012
Stretch 2 0.0014
Stretch 3 0.0016
Stretch 4 0.0019
Stretch 5 0.0016
•Starling observed that increased filling of the ventricle leads to more forceful contractions, and
deduced that this was because of the increased stretching of the muscles prior to contraction.
•Stretch of cardiac muscle, up to an optimum length, increases contractility
 Starling’s Law of the Heart
Effect of tension on heartbeat amplitude •With increasing stretch, the average contractile force (N)
0.002 increased in a near linear fashion.
0.0018

0.0016 •Parallels Starling’s Law of the Heart.

0.0014

0.0012 •More blood will stretch the walls of the ventricle, thus
0.001
increasing volume, and activating more crossbridges
0.0008

0.0006
and calcium release in the heart muscle.
0.0004

0.0002
•The sarcomeres also stretch, which increases the
0
distance that actin and myosin can travel, producing a
0 1 2 3 4 5 greater contractile force of the cardiac muscle
Effects of Drugs on the Heart
Before Acetylcholine After Acetylcholine
Effects of Drugs on the Heart
Drug Heart Rate before Heart Rate after % Change in heart
drug drug rate
administration administration
(BPM) (BPM)
Acetylcholine 61.26 36.08 -41.10%
•Acetylcholine (ACH) is a parasympathomimetic drug
•maintaining your heart's rhythm at rest.
•influence your heart's natural pacemaker.
•Parasympathetic + vagus nerve activation -> releases acetylcholine to SA node -> decreases
pacemaker rate -> increasing potassium, decreasing calcium and sodium movement.
•increase hyperpolarization and is going to slow down depolarization -> more potassium leaving
the cell causing depolarization to slow down -> slower heart rate.
Effects of Drugs on the Heart
Before Pilocarpine After Pilocarpine
Effects of Drug on the Heart
Drug Heart Rate before drug Heart Rate after drug % Change in heart rate
administration (BPM) administration
(BPM)
Pilocarpine 52.32 49.59 -5.22%

•Pilocarpine is a muscarinic receptor agonist that increases the activity of muscarinic

acetylcholine receptor -> increases the effects of acetylcholine in the body
•increases in the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system -> slows down the heart rate
Effects of Drug on the Heart
Before Atropine + Acetylcholine After Atropine + Acetylcholine
Effects of Drug on the Heart
Drug Heart Rate before Heart Rate after % Change in heart
drug drug rate
administration administration
(BPM) (BPM)
Atropine + 49.84 46.34 -7.02%
Acetylcholine
•Atropine is an anticholinergic drug and acts as a muscarinic receptor antagonist.
•Atropine competes with acetylcholine for the binding sites on the receptors
•Once atropine binds it blocks the binding of acetylcholine and thus blocks the effects of
acetylcholine
•Atropine (ATRO) has the ability to block the effects of parasympathetic nervous stimulation.
•If the cardiac rate is decreased as a result of vagal stimulation, therefore, the administration of
atropine will increase this rate.
Conclusion
- Temperature has a direct relationship with the heart rate, thus, an increase in
temperature results in an increase in the heart rate
-Increase in the tension of the heart through stretching, results in an increase in
the heart rate. Supporting Starling’s Law of the Heart
- Different drugs induce different responses in the heart’s rate
◦ Acetylcholine and Pilocarpine decreases the heart rate
◦ Atropine increases the heart rate