question 1. You are rushing to get to class on time, and in your haste you catch
ID: 3482570 • Letter: Q
Question
question 1.
You are rushing to get to class on time, and in your haste you catch your foot on a stair and turn your ankle hard. Ouch! You sit down on the stairs to examine your injured ankle and notice that it has already begun to swell. You cannot put your weight on the injured ankle and suspect that you have torn a ligament that holds the ankle b one together. Many of the cells in the damaged area of tissue have broken open and released the contents of their cytoplasm into the interstitial fluid. Assume in this simplified example that cells in the damaged tissue have broken open but most of the capillary beds are intact.
A.) which of the four pressures ( HPc, OPc, HPif, OPif) that relate to capillary dynamics would be most affected in this situation? Would this pressure be increased ? Explain how the change in this pressure would cause the swelling in your ankle.
B) As you realize the situation you are in and all of the work you have to do this week (you SO don't have time for this!) your heart begins to race and your blood pressure increases. Is this likely to help the swelling in your ankle or make it worse? Explain, referencing the important change(s) in pressures across the capillary.
Explanation / Answer
A) HPc stands for capillary hydrostatic pressure. It forces the fluid out of the capillary. HPif stands for interstitial fluid hydrostatic pressure. HPif balances HPc.
OPc refers to capillary oncotic pressure which is due to the presence of non diffusable proteins in the capillaries. OPc prevents leakage of fluids from capillaries. OPif represents interstitial fluid osmotic pressure. This has exact opposing effect of OPc.
In tissue injury, when the cell membrane breaks open, there is decrease in OPc. This causes leakage of fluid into the interstitial fluid resulting in swelling.
B) When there is increase in blood pressure, the capillary hydrostatic pressure HPc also increase. This will further aggrevate the swelling by pushing more fluid out of the damaged capillary wall.
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