Halliday, Resnick & Walker — Fluids: Problem 1

1 Giraffe bending to drink. In a giraffe with its head 1.8 m above its heart, and its heart 2.0 m above its feet, the (hydrostatic) gauge pressure in the blood at its heart is 250 torr. Assume that the giraffe stands upright and the blood density is $1.06 \times 10^3 \text{ kg/m}^3$. In torr (or mm Hg), find the (gauge) blood pressure (a) at the brain (the pressure is enough to perfuse the brain with blood, to keep the giraffe from fainting) and (b) at the feet (the pressure must be countered by tight-fitting skin acting like a pressure stocking). (c) If the giraffe were to lower its head to drink from a pond without splaying its legs and moving slowly, what would be the increase in the blood pressure in the brain? (Such action would probably be lethal.)