What sets mean arterial pressure, as a tree of ten boxes with blank name tags.
Mean Arterial Pressure Diagram
Name Date
Mean arterial pressure: tap its blank tag
1 of 10
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Write the name of each numbered blank.Answer key
Mean arterial pressure
Cardiac output
Heart rate
Stroke volume
Peripheral resistance
Diameter of the arterioles
Blood volume
Fluid intake
Fluid loss
Diameter of the veins
Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03. Licence: own work.
Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a blank is answered.
Mean arterial pressureThe average blood pressure in the arteries during one heartbeat. Often written MAP.
Cardiac outputThe volume of blood the heart pumps each minute. It is heart rate times stroke volume.
Heart rateThe number of heartbeats in a minute. A faster beat raises cardiac output.
Stroke volumeThe volume of blood the heart pumps in one beat.
Peripheral resistanceThe resistance the vessels offer to the flow of blood. Also called systemic vascular resistance.
Diameter of the arteriolesHow wide the arterioles are. They are the main site where resistance is adjusted.
Blood volumeThe total amount of blood in the vessels. The kidneys regulate it.
Fluid intakeWater that enters the body in drink and food.
Fluid lossWater that leaves the body. The kidneys adjust how much goes out in urine.
Diameter of the veinsHow wide the veins are. Veins hold most of the blood, so narrowing them moves blood toward the heart and arteries.
How this list was compiled: Every name read on 2026-10-03 and kept only where two independent sources give it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Mean arterial pressure, Blood pressure, Cardiac output, Vascular resistance, Blood volume, Vein, Venous return and Fluid balance, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_arterial_pressure : the pressure as an average over one cardiac cycle, set by cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance; cardiac output as heart rate times stroke volume; the arterioles as the main regulators of resistance; blood volume regulated by the kidneys; veins as the vessels that hold most of the blood. (2) U.S. National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Physiology of Circulation and Physiology of the Heart, https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/cardiovascular/blood/physiology.html : cardiac output, blood volume and peripheral resistance as factors of blood pressure, and resistance as mostly a matter of vessel diameter. (3) A college human physiology textbook (2001 edition), read by full-text search at archive.org, https://archive.org/details/humanphysiologyi0000silv_x2f9 : blood volume with fluid intake and fluid loss, cardiac output with heart rate and stroke volume, resistance with the diameter of the arterioles, and the distribution of blood with the diameter of the veins. The chart, its layout and its words are our own. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03. Own original chart; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work
How it works
Mean arterial pressure is the average blood pressure in the arteries over one heartbeat. This chart shows what sets it: a box set in under another is one of the things that set the box above.
Read the full guide
Read the tree
The top box is the pressure itself. The four boxes set in under it are its main factors: cardiac output, peripheral resistance, blood volume and the diameter of the veins. The boxes set in a second step show what sets each of those.
Fill the blank tags
Each box says in plain words what the thing is. Its name goes on the blank tag.
Cardiac output is heart rate times stroke volume, so its two boxes sit under it.
Questions and answers
What factors affect mean arterial pressure?
Cardiac output, peripheral resistance, blood volume and how the blood is shared between arteries and veins. Behind those are heart rate, stroke volume, the diameter of the arterioles and veins, and fluid intake and loss.
What is mean arterial pressure?
It is the average blood pressure in the arteries during one cardiac cycle, often written MAP. It is the pressure that drives blood through the body.
How does cardiac output affect mean arterial pressure?
Cardiac output is the blood the heart pumps each minute: heart rate times stroke volume. When cardiac output rises and resistance stays the same, mean arterial pressure rises.
How do I drag the labels onto the diagram to identify factors that affect mean arterial pressure?
Start with the pressure itself, then its four main factors, then what sets each one: two under cardiac output, one under resistance, two under blood volume. This chart is our own, made for practice.