Describe the baroreceptor response to high blood pressure.
Describe the baroreceptor response to high blood pressure.
A type of mechanoreceptors that function to sense the change in pressure and are found in the thin areas of heart chambers, carotid sinus, and aortic arch are known as baroreceptors. A change in the tension of the wall of the arteries makes the baroreceptors sense the pressure change.
Baroreceptors help to maintain the homeostasis of blood pressure through a negative feedback mechanism. When the arteries experience high blood pressure, the initiation of action potentials occurs at a higher rate due to the baroreceptor's activation by stretching. The signals from the baroreceptors are relayed to the medulla oblongata.
It triggers the parasympathetic nervous system activity and inhibits the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system works opposite the sympathetic nervous system and slows down the SA node decreasing the heart rate and cardiac output. Lower cardiac output means a lesser amount of blood will be pumped by the blood, leading to decreased blood pressure.
When the blood pressure reaches normal, baroreceptors sense it and get inactivated.
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