Facts about Giraffe Blood Pressure Adaptations
- 05
Giraffe hearts are unusually large and muscular, weighing around 11 kilograms, enabling them to generate the force required to maintain adequate cerebral blood flow.
- 04
When a giraffe lowers its head to drink, a rete mirabile and sinus at the base of the brain help prevent a dangerous surge of blood pressure to the brain.
- 03
Specialized valves and a thickened left ventricle wall allow giraffes to generate the high arterial pressure needed to perfuse the brain located nearly two meters above the heart.
- 02
The large elastic jugular veins and tight skin on giraffe legs act as a counter-pressure mechanism, preventing blood from pooling when the animal lowers its head to drink.
- 01
A giraffe's blood pressure is roughly twice that of most other large mammals, an adaptation necessary to pump blood up its long neck to the brain.