Mechanism of local blood flow

There are two basic theories for the regulation of local blood flow when either the rate
of tissue metabolism changes or the availability of oxygen changes. They are (1) the
vasodilator theory, (2) the oxygen lock theory.
According to this theory, the grater the rate of metabolism or the less the availability of
oxygen or some other nutrient to tissue, the greater the rate of formation of vasodilator
substances in the tissue cell. The vasodilator substances the are believed to diffuse through
the tissues to the precapillary sphincter, metarterioles, and arterioles cause dilation. Some of
the different vasodilator substances that have been suggested are adenosine, carbon dioxide,
adenosine phosphate compound, histamine, potassium ion, and hydrogen tons.
Most of the vasodilator theoris assume that the vasodilator substance is released from
the tissue mainly in response t oxygen deficiency. For instance, experiment have shown that
decreased avaibility of oxygen can cause both adenosine and lactid acid (containing hydrogen
ions) to be relased into the spaces between the tissue cell; the substance then cause intense
acute vasodilatation and therefore are responsible or parietallyresponcible, for the local blood
flow regulation.
Many physiologists have suggested that the substance adenosine is the most important
of the local vasodilators for controlling local blood flow. For example, minute quantities of
adenosine are released from heart muscle cell when coronary blood flow became to little, and
this cause enough local vasodilatation on the heart to return coronary blood flow back to
normal. Also, whenever the heart becomes more active then normal and the heart metabolism
increase an extra amount, this, too, cause increased utilization of oxygen, followed by (1)
decreased oxygen concentration in the heart muscle cell with (2) consequent degradation of
adenosine triphosphate(ATP), which (3) increase the release of adenosine. It is believed that
much of this adenosine leaks out of the heart muscle cells to cause coronary vasodilatation,
providing increased nutrient demands of the active heart.
Although research evidence is less clear, many physiologists also have suggested that
the some adenosine mechanism is the most of important controller of blood flow in skeletal
muscle and many other tissues as well in the heart. The problem with the different vasodilator
theoris of local blood flow regulation has been the following; It has been difficult to prove
that sufficient quantities of any single vasodilator of substance are indeed formed I n the
tissues to cause all the measured increase in blood flow. But a combination of several
vasodilators could increase the blood flow sufficiently.
 Although the vasodilator theory is widely accepted, several critical facts have made
other physiologist favour still another theory, which can be called either the oxygen lack
theory or, more accurately, the nutrient lack theory ( because other nutrient besides oxygen
are involved). Oxygen (and other nutrients as well) is required as one of the metabolic
nutrients to cause vascular muscle contraction. Therefore, in the absence of adequate oxygen,
it is reasonable to believe that the blood vessels simply would relax and therefore naturally
dilate. Also, increased utilization of oxygen the tissues as a result of increased metabolism
theoretically could decrease the availability of oxygen to smooth muscle fibres in the local
blood vessels, and this, too, would cause local vasodilatation.
A mechanism by which the oxygen lack theory could operate is shown in figure 17-3.
This figure shows a tissue unit, consisting of a metarteriole with a single sidearm capillary
and its surrounding tissues. At the origin of the capillary is a precapillary sphincter, and
around the metarteriole are several other smooth muscle fibers. Observing such as a tissues
under a microscope-for example, in a bat wing-one sees that the precapilarry spinchter are
normally either completely open or completely closed. The number of precapilarryspintcters
that are open at any given times roughly proportional to the requirements of the tissues for
nutrition. The precapillary sphincter and metarterioles open and close cyclically several times
per minutes, with the duration of open phases being proportional to the metabolic needs of
the tissues for oxygen. The cyclical opening and closing is called vasomotion.
Lets us explain how oxygen concentration in the local tissues could regulate blood flow
trough the area. Because smooth muscle requires oxygen to remain contracted, one might
assume the strength of contraction of the sphincters could increase with an increase in oxygen
concentration. Consequently, when the oxygen concentration in the tissue rises above a
certain level, the precapillary and metateriole sphincter presumably qould close until the
tissues cells consume the excess oxygen. But when the excess is gone and the oxygen
concentration falls low enough, the sphincter would open once more to begin the cycle again.
Thus, on the basis of aviable data, either a vasodilator substance theory or an oxygen
lack theory could explain acute local blood flow regulation in response to the metabolic needs
of the tissues. Probably the truth lies in a combination of the tow mechanism.