Explain the effects of epinephrine on the cardiovascular system in detail. What system within the body do epinephrine injections mimic?
What will be an ideal response?
Epinephrine has a marked effect on the cardiovascular system causing both an increase in heart rate and stroke volume as well as constriction of some blood vessels (the arterioles of the skin and abdominal viscera) and dilation of others (the arterioles of the skeletal muscles). The net effect is to shunt blood away from the outer periphery and digestive system and into the brain and large skeletal muscles. It also dilates the bronchi of the lungs to increase oxygen intake into the blood stream. Epinephrine helps to stimulate the release of glucose (i.e., sugar) into the blood stream from glycogen (long chains of glucose) stores in the liver and muscles and through a process called gluconeogenesis converts non-carbohydrate energy stores into glucose for use by the skeletal muscles. The net effect is an increase in the body's metabolic rate (the amount of energy expended by the body). In general, the hormone epinephrine has the same effect as the sympathetic nervous system on its target organs. For example, epinephrine injections given to treat severe allergic reactions can produce sympathetic pattern side effects such as a racing heart, nausea, sweating, tremors, headaches, and feelings of anxiety.
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