Explain the role of the baroreceptors in the control of blood pressure

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College Answer

Good answers included the following         

  • description of, and types of, baroreceptors (e.g. stretch-receptors),     
  • their locations (e.g. walls of the aorta, carotid sinuses, the atria, etc),  
  • the stimulus they respond to (e.g. pressure, volume),          
  • short term and long term responses,
  • alteration to set points,
  • impulse frequency / pressure curve
  • A brief description of the afferent and efferent pathways and the resultant efferent effects (e.g. alterations to heart rate, blood pressure, etc).