MEDICAL BIOLOGY, HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY - Ya.I. Fedonyuk 2010

ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY

CHAPTER 5. BLOOD AND LYMPH CIRCULATION AND ITS PATHOLOGY

PHYSIOLOGY OF BLOOD VESSELS

5. REGULATION OF BLOOD CIRCULATION

5.2. THE VASOMOTOR CENTER

In 1871, V.F. Ovsiannikov discovered that the Medulla Oblongata contains a cluster of Nerve Cells responsible for a baseline degree of vascular constriction, known as arterial tone. This is the vasomotor center. It remains in a state of continuous excitation, maintaining persistent tone in the arterial vessels via vasomotor nerves.

A more detailed analysis revealed that the vasomotor center comprises two divisions: the pressor and the depressor areas. Stimulation of the former causes arterial constriction and elevated Blood pressure, whereas stimulation of the latter produces the opposite effect.

The vasomotor center in the medulla oblongata is vital for survival; its damage results in a sharp drop in blood pressure that is incompatible with life.

In addition to the medullary vasomotor center, vascular tone—and consequently blood pressure—is regulated by nerve centers located in the Spinal Cord (the lateral horns of the thoracic and upper lumbar segments), the Hypothalamus, and the Cerebral Cortex.



Last update: 08/08/2026

Editorial and Educational Adaptation: This material has been compiled based on the primary/original source text. The project team performed an editorial review, corrected technical inaccuracies, structured sections, and adapted the content for an educational format.

What was processed:

  • elimination of formatting defects (OCR errors, structural breaks, corrupted characters);
  • editorial organization of content;
  • standardization of terminology in accordance with academic sources;
  • verification of factual statements against the original source text.

All mentions of the author, publication year, and origin of the primary text have been preserved in accordance with the source.