Hypertensive kidney disease this situation, the kidney supplied blood by the narrowed renal artery suffers from inadequate blood flow, which in turn causes the size of the kidneys to decrease. Other consequences include arterial stiffening, which involves a gradual breakdown of elastic fibers and intima (the innermost layer of a blood vessel) thickening. An alternative mechanism of hypertensive nephropathy is prolonged glomerular hypertension and hence glomerular hyperfiltration. These can occur simultaneously but not necessarily. The idea is that hypertension results in sclerosis of the glomeruli which ultimately means reduced kidney function. As a compensatory mechanism, the unaffected nephrons (specifically, the preglomerular arterioles) vasodilate
Elastic artery branches together comprise the body's system of elastic arteries. Elastic arteries receive their own blood supply by the vasa vasorum unlike smaller blood vessels, which are supplied by diffusion. Elastic artery An elastic artery (conducting artery or conduit artery) is an artery with a large number of collagen and elastin filaments in the tunica media, which gives it the ability to stretch in response to each pulse. This elasticity also gives rise to the Windkessel effect, which helps to maintain a relatively constant pressure in the arteries despite the pulsating nature of the blood flow. Elastic arteries include the largest