What physiological challenges arise when blood must climb two metres in a giraffe's body?
Updated: Apr 11
How does a giraffe's towering body deliver blood to a head located more than two metres above the heart? Blood has weight, and gravity pulls it downward. This creates a hydrostatic pressure gradient along the blood column: for every metre of vertical height, approximately 77 mmHg of additional blood pressure is required to maintain normal blood flow. Consequently, the giraffe's heart must sustain extremely high arterial pressure over long periods in order to pump blood upward and ensure adequate perfusion of the brain.
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