Hormonal and nervous regulation of blood flow Tissues can regulate their own blood flow through autoregulation. Local factors such as decreased oxygen, increased carbon dioxide, or increased osmolarity relax arterioles and precapillary sphincters. Increased temperature also causes vasodilation as in heat induced erythema . Lactate and potassium ion concentrations also cause local vasodilation. Injury causes arteries and arterioles to constrict to limit blood loss.
Temperature decreases cause vasoconstriction in localized areas as well.
Circulating or local hormonal factors can change the caliber of the arterioles. Histamine, atrial natriuretic peptide, epinephrine, kinins, nitric acid, and adenosine are all vasodilators. Vasoconstrictors include vasopressin, norepinephrine, angiotensin II, and serotonin. The action of any of many of these substances depend on the tissue and receptor compliment of the cells there. For instance, Epinephrine causes vasodilation in skeletal muscle and the liver but causes vasoconstriction in other tissues because of the types of receptors present in the tissues.