237.蛇的血压
P1 - In terrestrial environments, gravity places special demands on the cardiovascular systems of animals.
G=> blood to pool in the lower regions of the body=> difficult to circulate blood to the brain
e.g. terrestrial snakes
P2 - use sea snakes to illustrate the problem confronting terrestrial snakes.
vertical pressure gradients are counteracted by pressure gradents in the sea water=> removed from the water and tilted at angles with the head up=> blood pressure at brain level fall to zero=> certain adaptations of the terrestrial snakes regulate the blood pressure
P3 - one such adaptation is the proximity of the TS's heart to its head.
SS- the heart can be located near the middle of the body to minimize the work entailed in circulating blood to both extrimitiese
AS- the distance between the heart and the head is 15% of the body length => a great distance to travel between heart and tail => another adaptation: when climbing, often pause to wiggle, causing waves of muscle contraction => compress the veins and forcing blood forward