title: Essentials of blood flow.
abstract: We have reviewed briefly some features of the mechanics of blood flow, focusing particularly on the arterial system. Among the topics we consider are: steady and nonsteady flow in straight rigid tubes; the curvature and branching of arteries, noting that it may commonly be nonplanar; and the effects of both planar and nonplanar curvature and branching on flow. Steady flow in planar bends and branches (and to a small extent in nonplanar bends and branches) has attracted study. However, there has been little study of nonsteady flow in either planar or nonplanar bends and branches.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological and Medical Systems, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Caro
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Doorly
mesh_terms: D001775:Blood Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D012212:Rheology