title: A simple "streak length method" for quantifying and characterizing red blood cell velocity profiles and blood flow in rat skeletal muscle arterioles.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a valid experimental method for quantifying blood flow in continuously branching skeletal muscle arterioles, and to derive an empirical relationship between velocity ratio (V(Max)/V(Mean)) and arteriolar diameter.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated arteriolar trees using IVVM of rat gluteus maximus muscle and developed a method to acquire single fluorescent-labeled RBC velocities across arteriolar lumens to create velocity profiles. These data were used to calculate the blood flow for 37 vessel segments (diameters: 21-115 μm).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mass balance at arteriolar bifurcations had 0.6 ± 3.2% error. Velocity ratios ranged from 1.35 to 1.98 and were positively correlated with diameter (p < 0.0001), and V(RBC) profiles were blunted with decreasing diameter.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We present a means for quantifying blood flow in continuously branching skeletal muscle arterioles. Further, we provide an equation for calculating velocity ratios based on arteriolar diameter, which may be used by others for blood flow calculations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Baraa K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Al-Khazraji
authors.forename: Nicole M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Novielli
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.forename: Dwayne N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001160:Arterioles / Q000502:physiology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000098:blood supply*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley