Final answer:
To find the tension in the wall of a blood vessel, we use Laplace's law, which involves converting the mean blood pressure from mm Hg to pascals and then multiplying with the radius of the vessel.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks about the tension in the wall of a blood vessel when the mean blood pressure inside it is 72.0 mm of Hg and the radius of the blood vessel is 0.100 mm. To solve this problem, we can use the formula for the Laplace's law for cylindrical vessels, which relates the pressure (P), the tension (T) in the wall of the vessel, and the radius of the vessel (r). The law is articulated as T = P × r.
Given the mean blood pressure (P) is 72.0 mm Hg, we first need to convert this pressure into pascals (Pa) using the conversion factor 1 mm Hg = 133 Pa. Thus, P = 72.0 mm Hg × 133 Pa/mm Hg. Once P is in pascals, we can proceed with the calculation using the provided radius (r), expressed in meters to maintain the metric system's consistency.
The tension (T) can then be calculated with the reformulated version of the equation T = P × r, using the appropriate units. Once calculated, this will give us the tension in the walls of the blood vessel in newtons per meter (N/m). It is important to note that this calculation assumes a simplified model of a cylindrical blood vessel and ignores other factors that may influence the actual tension.