A11 Circulatory and Lymphatic Alterations

Topic

Blood and lymphatic circulation follow a set of normal hemodynamic and lymphatic parameters that describe how blood and lymph should flow through the body. When these normal parameters deviate, the deviation directly affects three processes: tissue perfusion, venous return, and lymphatic drainage.

The first process affected is tissue perfusion: when normal hemodynamic parameters deviate, the amount of blood actually reaching each tissue decreases, and the tissue receives less perfusion than it needs to function normally.

The second process affected is venous return: when these same normal hemodynamic parameters deviate, blood that should return from the tissues to the heart via the veins encounters increased resistance or loses the driving force that normally propels it back, resulting in reduced venous return.

The third process affected is lymphatic drainage: when normal lymphatic parameters deviate, the fluid that the lymphatic system should remove from the tissues accumulates instead of draining away, leading to reduced lymphatic drainage.

Collectively, the reduction in tissue perfusion, venous return, and lymphatic drainage impacts the tissue's energy balance: when all three processes are diminished simultaneously, the blood delivering oxygen and nutrients no longer circulates or replenishes with the efficiency required to maintain that energy balance.

When tissue energy balance is altered in this way, oxygen availability within the tissues decreases: the tissue receives less oxygen than it needs to generate the energy required for its cells to function and repair themselves.

This reduced oxygen availability compromises functional recovery: deprived of the normal tissue perfusion, venous return, and lymphatic drainage—which originally relied on the normal hemodynamic and lymphatic parameters of circulation—the tissue has less energy available to repair its structures and regain its function.

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