title: Multiple equilibrium states in a micro-vascular network.
abstract: We use a simple model of micro-vascular blood flow to explore conditions that give rise to multiple equilibrium states in a three-node micro-vascular network. The model accounts for two primary rheological effects: the Fåhraeus-Lindqvist effect, which describes the apparent viscosity of blood in a vessel, and the plasma skimming effect, which governs the separation of red blood cells at diverging nodes. We show that multiple equilibrium states are possible, and we use our analytical and computational tools to design an experiment for validation.
authors.affiliation: Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Needham, MA, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Yiyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Small
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Geddes
authors.forename: Russell T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Carr
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001809:Blood Viscosity / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology; D006400:Hematocrit; D018056:Hemorheology / Q000502:physiology*; D055806:Microvessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology*