The Fluid Mechanics of Pulsatile Flow in the Microcirculation.

Joseph Francis Gross, Jerry Aroesty

ResearchPublished 1972

Discusses pulsatile fluid flow in small blood vessels and presents a non-Newtonian model for pulsatile blood flow and a preliminary network model for a composite microcirculatory bed. Pulsatile flow in the microvessels is shown to be quasi-steady, a theoretical result that agrees with [in vitro] experiments in tubes under 100 microns diameter. A cell-deficient layer of plasma along the vessel wall appears to act as a lubricating layer increasing the flow rate; for a fixed blood yield stress, the role of the plasma layer decreases as the flow pressure gradient increases. A five-layer model of the microcirculation--small artery, arteriole, capillary, venule, small vein--gave results in general agreement with observation. Amplified to seven levels, with vasodilation and vasoconstriction, the network model was in qualitative agreement with results of [in vivo] experiments on rabbit omentum. (To appear in [Fluid Dynamics Transactions], Vol. 6, Part 2, 1972). 12 pp. Ref.

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  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 1972
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 12
  • Paperback Price: $20.00
  • Document Number: P-4785

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RAND Style Manual
Gross, Joseph Francis and Jerry Aroesty, The Fluid Mechanics of Pulsatile Flow in the Microcirculation. RAND Corporation, P-4785, 1972. As of September 12, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4785.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Gross, Joseph Francis and Jerry Aroesty, The Fluid Mechanics of Pulsatile Flow in the Microcirculation. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1972. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4785.html. Also available in print form.
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