Abstract
Mathematical models are formulated for oxygen transport between blood vessels and muscle tissue in terms of nonlinear partial differential equations describing oxygen diffusion, convection, and chemical reactions. The effect of oxygen convection by capillaries in the vicinity of arteriolar vessels is systematically investigated. Numerical results are obtained for oxygen flux from artcrioles as a function of capillary velocity, blood hematocrit, capillary spacing, and other relevant physiological parameters. The results are compared with experimental data obtained by microspectrophotometric measurements of hemoglobin saturation in individual arterioles in the hamster cheek pouch retractor muscle, from which the oxygen flux can be evaluated (L.Kuo and R.N. Pittman, Am. J. Physiol. 1989, 1991). A significant discrepancy is found between the predictions and the data. Possible sources of the discrepancy are critically assessed, including the assumptions regarding the Krogh diffusion coefficient and the intravascular transport. New results are also obtained on intracapillary transport of oxygen: the effects of red blood cell shape and oxygen dissociation curve on the capillary mass transfer coefficient are investigated. (Supported by NIH grant HL 18292.)
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Annals of biomedical engineering |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| State | Published - Dec 1 1991 |
| Event | 1991 Annual Fall Meeting of the Biomedical Engineering Society - Charlottesville, VA, USA Duration: Oct 12 1991 → Oct 14 1991 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biomedical Engineering