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Multiple Choice

List the three combined factors that determine the total peripheral resistance of the cardiovascular system.

Total peripheral resistance is the opposition the systemic circulation offers to blood flow, determined by factors in the vessel network and the blood itself. The three main contributors are the overall vascular resistance of the network, blood viscosity, and whether the flow remains smooth or becomes turbulent. Vascular resistance embodies how the arteries and arterioles, their diameters and lengths, and their branching affect flow; small changes in radius have a large effect because resistance is highly sensitive to radius. Blood viscosity reflects how thick the blood is—the more viscous the blood (higher hematocrit or protein content), the greater the resistance to flow. Turbulence adds extra energy losses when flow is chaotic or high-velocity, increasing resistance beyond what laminar flow would predict. Together, these factors shape how hard the heart must work to push blood through the body.

Total peripheral resistance is the opposition the systemic circulation offers to blood flow, determined by factors in the vessel network and the blood itself. The three main contributors are the overall vascular resistance of the network, blood viscosity, and whether the flow remains smooth or becomes turbulent. Vascular resistance embodies how the arteries and arterioles, their diameters and lengths, and their branching affect flow; small changes in radius have a large effect because resistance is highly sensitive to radius. Blood viscosity reflects how thick the blood is—the more viscous the blood (higher hematocrit or protein content), the greater the resistance to flow. Turbulence adds extra energy losses when flow is chaotic or high-velocity, increasing resistance beyond what laminar flow would predict. Together, these factors shape how hard the heart must work to push blood through the body.