hys|ca| Laws Govern|ng 8|ood I|ow

the C|rcu|atory System

superlor or lnferlor vena
cava brlng Lhe blood back
lnLo Lhe rlghL aLrlum of Lhe
hearL.
1he le venLrlcle e[ecLs blood lnLo Lhe aorLa
AorLa dlsLrlbuLes Lhe blood ow
LhroughouL Lhe body uslng a
neLwork of
blood vessels
1he C|rcu|atory System
ArLerles arlslng from
Lhe aorLa, branch lnLo
successlvely smaller
arLerlal vessels unul
Lhey become
caplllarles.
SmallesL vessels [oln
LogeLher Lo form velns
1hese vessels
conunue Lo [oln
LogeLher wlLh
oLher velns
1he C|rcu|atory System
VESSEL
TYPE
DIAMETER
(mm)
FUNCTION
Aorta 25 Pulse dampening and distribution
Large Arteries 1.0 - 4.0 Distribution of arterial blood
Small Arteries 0.2 - 1.0 Distribution and resistance
Arterioles 0.01 - 0.20 Resistance (pressure & flow regulation)
Capillaries 0.006 - 0.010 Exchange
Venules 0.01 - 0.20 Exchange, collection, and capacitance
Veins 0.2 - 5.0 Capacitance function (blood volume)
Vena Cava 35 Collection of venous blood

1he kesp|ratory System
A branch|ng system can be connected |n two ways:
1) ln serles: 8 (LoLal) = 81 + 82 + 83 + . where Lhe LoLal reslsLance of Lhe
sysLem ls equal Lo Lhe sum of each lndlvldual reslsLance
2) ln parallel: 1/8 (LoLal) = 1/81 + 1/ 82 + 1/ 83 + ..where Lhe LoLal reslsLance
of Lhe sysLem ls equal Lo less Lha any lndlvldual reslsLance.
Addlng 4 ldenucal reslsLances ln parallel Lhe 8 (LoLal) of Lhe sysLem wlll be 1/4
of any slngle reslsLance
Addlng 3 ldenucal reslsLances ln parallel Lhe 8 (LoLal) of Lhe sysLem wlll be 1/3
of any slngle reslsLance
Iour Iactors Aecnng kes|stance
Alrway / vessel Callber
ow (v) = pressure () / reslsLance (8)
slope of llne = 1/8 = conducLance
reslsLance (8) Lo ow 1/radlus
4

alrway callber (secreuons, bronchoconsLrlcuon): 8 and
Alr-llow/ 8lood llow role
Lamlnar ow (v) lncreases llnearly wlLh drlvlng pressure
non-lamlnar ow (v) lncreases curvlllnearly wlLh drlvlng
pressure
Alrway / vessel Cenerauon
ln general, reslsLance decreases as a funcuon of generauon
ln speclc, Lhe hlghesL reglonal reslsLance ls aL generauon 4
medlum slzed bronchl of shorL lengLh
Small arLerles & arLerloles
Lung / 8lood volume
LoLal alrway /blood vessels reslsLance (8 = ((alv, cap) - (aLm,
ven)) /C ) = summauon of serlal reglonal reslsLances
8
LoLal
decreases hyperbollcally wlLh lncreases ln volume
conducLance
LoLal
(reclprocal of reslsLance) lncreases llnearly wlLh
lncreases ln volume lncreases ln volume cause lncreases ln
radlus (C/(alv, cap) - (mouLh, ven))
1he C|rcu|atory System - d|str|bunon of pressures and vo|umes
1he C|rcu|atory System - d|str|bunon of pressures and vo|umes
Mean aoruc pressure ~ 83 - 93 mmPg
Mean blood pressure does noL fall very
much as Lhe blood ows down Lhe aorLa
and Lhrough large dlsLrlbuung arLerles
Small arLerles and arLerloles - 30-70
pressure drop
Mean caplllary pressure 23-30 mmPg
1he pressure falls furLher as blood Lravels
lnLo Lhe velns and back Lo Lhe hearL
ressure wlLhln Lhe Lhoraclc vena cava
near Lhe rlghL aLrlum ls very close Lo zero,
and ucLuaLes from a few mmPg negauve
Lo posluve wlLh resplrauon
C|rcu|atory system - ressure Grad|ent & kes|stance
llow of blood Lhrough ouL body =
pressure gradlenL wlLhln vessels x
reslsLance Lo ow
- ressure gradlenL: aoruc pressure
- cenLral venous pressure
- 8eslsLance:
-- vessel radlus
-- vessel lengLh
-- blood vlscoslLy
lacLors promoung LoLal perlpheral reslsLance
1oLal perlpheral reslsLance
-- comblned reslsLance of all
vessels
-- vasodllauon ! reslsLance
decreases
-- vasoconsLrlcuon !
reslsLance lncreases
1he C|rcu|atory System
Venous vascu|ature
70-80 of Lhe blood volume
capaclLance vessels
1he relauve volume of blood beLween
Lhe arLerlal and venous sldes of Lhe
clrculauon can vary conslderably
dependlng upon:
LoLal blood volume
lnLravascular pressures
vascu|ar comp||ance.
8esplraLory acuvlLy lnuences venous reLurn Lo Lhe hearL
lncreaslng Lhe raLe and depLh of resplrauon promoLes venous reLurn
and Lherefore enhances cardlac ouLpuL
non-Lyplcal resplraLory acuvlLy such as belng on posluve pressure venulauon
or dolng a forced explrauon agalnsL a closed gloms
lmpedes and Lherefore reduces venous reLurn and cardlac ouLpuL
Some noLes:
1he C|rcu|atory System - vascu|ar comp||ance
1he ablllLy of a blood vessel wall Lo expand and conLracL passlvely wlLh
changes ln pressure ls an lmporLanL funcuon of large arLerles and velns.
1he ablllLy of a vessel Lo dlsLend and lncrease volume wlLh lncreaslng
transmura| pressure (= lnslde mlnus ouLslde pressure) ls quanued as
vesse| comp||ance (C)
whlch ls Lhe change ln volume (Av) dlvlded by Lhe change ln pressure (A):
C= V]
1here are Lwo lmporLanL characLerlsucs:
1 - Lhe slope ls noL llnear because Lhe blood vessel wall ls a heLerogeneous ussue.
1herefore, compllance decreases aL hlgher pressures and volumes
(l.e., vessels become "suer" aL hlgher pressures and volumes),
2 - aL lower pressures, Lhe compllance of a veln ls abouL 10 Lo 20-umes greaLer Lhan an
arLery. 1herefore, velns can accommodaLe large changes ln blood volume wlLh only a
small change ln pressure.
Powever, aL hlgher pressures and volumes, venous compllance (slope of compllance
curve) becomes slmllar Lo arLerlal compllance.
2 - blood vessel (e.g., aoruc segmenL) lsolaLed, ued o
aL one end and cannulaLed aL Lhe oLher end so LhaL lL
can be lled wlLh a known volume of uld and have lLs
pressure measured aL Lhe same ume
-- sudden lncrease ln volume (|ncreased stra|n)
-- lncreases pressure (|ncreased stress)
however, Lhe pressure does noL remaln sLeady, buL
decllnes a small amounL over ume
1hls decllne ln pressure (sLress) over ume aL a
consLanL volume (sLraln) ls Lermed "stress re|axanon"
1he reason LhaL pressure falls whlle Lhe volume
remalns consLanL can be explalned by Lhe Law of
Lalace, where wall Lenslon (1) ls proporuonal Lo
pressure () umes radlus :
1 = x r or 1/r
1herefore, pressure can fall aL consLanL radlus (or volume) lf wall Lenslon decreases over ume,
and Lhls ls whaL occurs durlng sLress relaxauon.
ulerenL blologlcal ussues dlsplay dlerenL degrees of sLress relaxauon - ussues dler ln Lhelr
sLrucLural componenLs (e.g., smooLh muscle, collagen, elasun) and Lhe arrangemenL of Lhose
componenLs wlLhln Lhe ussue
When a Lrue sLeady-sLaLe compllance cannoL be deLermlned, Lhe compllance ls someumes
referred Lo as Lhe "dynam|c comp||ance" of Lhe ussue or organ.
8|ood I|ow - 8ernou|||'s r|nc|p|e & Lnergencs of I|ow|ng 8|ood
lf frlcuonal losses are neglecLed, Lhe ow of an lncompresslble uld ls governed by
8ernoulll equauon.
8ernoulll's equauon sLaLes LhaL aL any polnL ln Lhe channel of a owlng uld, ln Lhe
absence of frlcuon, Lhe followlng relauonshlp holds:
+ ! g h + x ! v
2
= Constant
A 8 C
- pressure ln Lhe uld
h - helghL of Lhe plpe
! - denslLy
v - veloclLy aL any polnL of Lhe plpe
A - ls Lhe poLenual energy / unlL volume,
8 - ls Lhe gravlLauonal poLenual energy / unlL of volume
C - ls Lhe klneuc energy /unlL volume
A1
A2
v1
v2
lLCW - volume of uld/second pasL any polnL of Lhe plpe ls glven by:
A x v
lf Lhe uld ls lncompresslble as much uld musL ow ouL of Lhe plpe as ows
lnLo lL, per unlL of ume. 1herefore Lhe ow ln Lhe 2 segmenLs ls equal:
A1 x v1 = A2 x v2 or v2 = (A1]A2) v1
A1 > A2 & v2 > v1
8|ood I|ow - 8ernou|||'s r|nc|p|e
8ernoulll's equauon sLaLes LhaL Lhe sum of Lhe Lerms aL any polnL of Lhe
plpe ls equal Lo Lhe same consLanL
1herefore we can wrlLe:
1 + !gh1 + x ! (v
2
)1 = 2 + !gh2 + x ! (v
2
)2
8ecause h1 = h2
1 + x ! (v1)
2
= 2 + x ! (v2)
2

8uL v2 = (A1/A2) v1, Lhen subsuLuung ln Lhe equauon above, Lhe
pressure ln segmenL of area A2 ls:
2 = 1 - x ! (v1)
2
[(A1]A2)
2
- 1]
A1
A2
v1
v2
8|ood I|ow - 8ernou|||'s r|nc|p|e
8|ood I|ow - Lnergencs of I|ow|ng 8|ood
1he LoLal energy (L) of Lhe blood owlng wlLhln Lhe vessel ls Lhe sum of Lhe
klneuc (kL) and poLenual (L) energles
(assumlng no gravlLauonal eecLs)
L = kL + L
As Lhe blood ows lnslde a vessel, pressure ls exerLed laLerally agalnsL Lhe walls
of Lhe vessel, Lhls pressure represenLs Lhe poLenual or pressure energy
8ecause kL ls proporuonal Lo Lhe square of veloclLy (kL=1/2 rv
2
) Lhen:
L V
2
+ L
8|ood I|ow - Lnergencs of I|ow|ng 8|ood
1here are Lwo lmporLanL concepLs LhaL follow from Lhe relauonshlp L = kL + L
1 - 8|ood ow |s dr|ven by the d|erence |n tota| energy between two po|nts.
AlLhough pressure ls normally consldered as Lhe drlvlng force for blood ow, ln reallLy
lL ls Lhe LoLal energy LhaL drlves ow beLween Lwo polnLs
(e.g., longlLudlnally along a blood vessel or across a hearL valve)
1hroughouL mosL of Lhe cardlovascular sysLem, kL ls relauvely low
When kL ls hlgh, addlng kL Lo Lhe L slgnlcanLly lncreases Lhe LoLal energy, L
e.g., cons|der the ow across the aornc va|ve dur|ng card|ac e[ecnon
LaLe durlng e[ecuon, Lhe lnLravenLrlcular pressure (L) falls sllghLly below Lhe aoruc
pressure (L), neverLheless, ow conunues Lo be e[ecLed lnLo Lhe aorLa
1he reason for Lhls ls LhaL Lhe kL of Lhe blood as lL moves across Lhe valve aL a very hlgh
veloclLy ensures LhaL Lhe LoLal energy (L) ln Lhe blood crosslng Lhe valve ls hlgher Lhan
Lhe LoLal energy of Lhe blood more dlsLal ln Lhe aorLa.
8|ood I|ow - Lnergencs of I|ow|ng 8|ood
2 - k|nenc energy & pressure energy can be |nter-converted - tota| energy rema|ns unchanged
1hls ls Lhe basls of 8ernoulll's rlnclple.
Conslderlng a blood vessel LhaL ls suddenly narrowed Lhen reLurned Lo lLs normal dlameLer, ln
Lhe narrowed reglon (sLenosls), Lhe veloclLy lncreases as Lhe dlameLer decreases.
lf Lhe dlameLer of Lhe vessel ls reduced by one-half ln Lhe reglon of Lhe sLenosls, Lhe veloclLy of
blood ln Lhe narrowed segmenL wlll lncrease 4-fold.
8ecause kL v
2
, Lhe kL |ncreases 16-fo|d " resu|t |n a propornonate decrease |n L
Cnce pasL Lhe narrowed segmenL, kL wlll reverL back Lo lLs pre-sLenosls value because Lhe posL-
sLenosls dlameLer ls Lhe same as Lhe pre-sLenosls dlameLer and ow ls conserved.
1hls means LhaL b|ood ow|ng at h|gher ve|oc|nes has a h|gher rano of k|nenc energy to potenna|
(pressure) energy.
1he ow ls A x v, and A = n r
2

assumlng a cyllndrlcal vessel wlLh a
clrcular cross-secuon.
Some examp|es:
1 - 1he raLe of blood ow ln Lhe aorLa ls 3 L/mln. Conslderlng LhaL Lhe radlus of Lhe
vessel ls 1 cm, whlch ls Lhe veloclLy of Lhe blood?
2 - Powever blood ow ln Lhe aorLa does noL ow conunuously. lL moves ln spurLs.
uurlng Lhe perlod of ow, Lhe veloclLy of Lhe blood ls abouL 3 umes as hlgh as Lhe
average value calculaLed above.
Pow much ls Lhe klneuc energy / cm
3
of owlng blood?
8|ood I|ow - V|scos|ty and o|seu|||e's Law
frlcuonless ow does noL occur ln a real uld
ln a uld, molecules auracL each oLher, and Lhe relauve mouon of molecules ls opposed
by frlcuonal force, whlch ls called v|scous fr|cnon.
1he vlscous frlcuon ls proporuonal Lhe veloclLy of ow and Lo coemclenL of vlscoslLy for
Lhe glven uld.
As a resulL of vlscous frlcuon Lhe veloclLy of a uld Lhrough a plpe varles across Lhe plpe.
1he veloclLy ls hlgher aL Lhe cenLre and decreases Lowards Lhe walls.
AL Lhe walls Lhe uld ls sLauonary (v=0)
Such u|d ow |s ca||ed |am|nar.
8|ood I|ow - V|scos|ty and o|seu|||e's Law
lf vlscoslLy ls Laken lnLo accounL lL can be shown LhaL Lhe raLe of lamlnar ow C Lhrough
a cyllndrlcal vessel of lengLh (l) and radlus (r), ls glven by Lhe o|seu|||e |aw, whlch ls:
= " r
4
(1-2) ]8 # | (cm3]s)
(1-2) ls Lhe dlerence beLween Lhe uld pressures aL Lhe Lwo ends of Lhe cyllnder
# ls Lhe vlscoslLy coemclenL measured ln unlLs of dyn (sec/cm2) or polse
ln general Lhe vlscoslLy ls a funcuon of LemperaLure and lncreases as uld become
colder.
8|ood I|ow - V|scos|ty and o|seu|||e's Law
vlscoslues of selecLed ulds:
Temperature
(C)
Viscosity
(poise)
Water 20 0.01
Glycerin 20 8.3
Mercury 20 0.0155
Air 20 0.00018
Blood 37 0.04

8|ood I|ow - kes|stance to I|ow (o|seu|||e's Lquanon)
vessel reslsLance
k = (L) (#) ] (r
4
)
A vessel havlng tw|ce the |ength of anoLher vessel (and each havlng Lhe same radlus) wlll
have tw|ce the res|stance Lo ow
lf Lhe v|scos|ty of Lhe blood |ncreases 2-fo|d, Lhe res|stance Lo ow wlll |ncrease 2-fo|d
An |ncrease |n rad|us wlll reduce res|stance
!"# %"&'(# )' *&+),- &./#*- *#-)-/&'%# /0 /"# 1
/"
203#* 04 /"# %"&'(# )' *&+),-
Ior examp|e: a 2-fold lncrease ln radlus decreases reslsLance by 16-fold!
1herefore, vessel reslsLance ls exqulslLely sensluve Lo changes ln radlus.
1here |s a bas|c d|erence between fr|cnon|ess and v|scous u|d ow:
a) A frlcuonless uld wlll ow sLeadlly wlLhouL an exLernal force applled Lo lL
- 5#*'0,..)6- #7,&80'
1haL ls lf Lhe helghL and veloclLy of Lhe uld remalns consLanL
Lhere ls no pressure drop along Lhe ow paLh
b) 1he 90)-#,)..# #7,&80' for vlscous ow sLaLes LhaL a pressure drop always accompanles
vlscous uld ow.
$ = 8 # | ] " r
4
lor a glven ow raLe the pressure drop requ|red to overcome fr|cnona| |osses decreases to
the forth power of the rad|us.
1hus, even Lhough ulds are sub[ecLed Lo frlcuon, lf Lhe area of Lhe ow ls large, frlcuonal
losses and accompanylng pressure drop are small and can be neglecLed
ln Lhese cases 8ernoulll's equauon musL be used wlLh llule error.
8|ood I|ow - 8ernou|||'s and o|seu|||e's equanons
8|ood I|ow - kes|stance to I|ow (o|seu|||e's Lquanon)
1here are Lhree prlmary facLors LhaL deLermlne Lhe reslsLance Lo blood ow wlLhln a
slngle vessel:
vessel dlameLer (or radlus),
vessel lengLh,
vlscoslLy of Lhe blood
Cf Lhese Lhree facLors, Lhe mosL lmporLanL quanuLauvely and physlologlcally ls vessel
dlameLer.
1he reason for Lhls ls LhaL vessel dlameLer changes because of conLracuon and
relaxauon of Lhe vascular smooLh muscle ln Lhe wall of Lhe blood vessel.
lurLhermore, very small changes ln vessel dlameLer lead Lo large changes ln reslsLance.
vessel reslsLance (8) ls glven by:
k = (L) (#) ] (r
4
)
ln Lhe body, however, ow does noL conform exacLly Lo Lhls relauonshlp because
Lhls relauonshlp assumes:
long, sLralghL Lubes (blood vessels),
a newLonlan uld (e.g., waLer, noL blood whlch ls non-newLonlan),
and sLeady, lamlnar ow condluons.
neverLheless, Lhe relauonshlp clearly shows Lhe domlnanL lnuence of vessel radlus
on reslsLance and ow and Lherefore serves as an lmporLanL concepL Lo undersLand
how physlologlcal (e.g. vascular Lone) and paLhologlcal (e.g., vascular sLenosls)
changes ln vessel radlus aecL pressure and ow, and how changes ln hearL valve
orlce slze aecL ow and pressure gradlenLs across hearL valves.
1he facLors LhaL deLermlne reslsLance across a hearL valve are Lhe same as
descrlbed above excepL LhaL lengLh becomes lnslgnlcanL because paLh of blood
ow across a valve ls exLremely shorL compared Lo a blood vessel.
1herefore, when reslsLance Lo ow ls descrlbed for hearL valves, Lhe prlmary facLors
consldered are radlus and blood vlscoslLy.
8|ood I|ow - kes|stance to I|ow (o|seu|||e's Lquanon)
8|ood I|ow - 1urbu|ent I|ow
1he orderly movemenL of lamlnar blood ow Lhrough a vessel helps Lo reduce energy
losses ln Lhe owlng blood by mlnlmlzlng vlscous lnLeracuons beLween Lhe ad[acenL layers
of blood and Lhe wall of Lhe blood vessel.
ulsrupuon of lamlnar ow leads Lo Lurbulence wlLh eddles and whlrls, and lncreased
energy losses.
ln an ldeal cyllndrlcal vessel Lhe crlucal ow veloclLy vc above whlch Lhe ow ls LurbulenL,
ls glven by:
Vc = ! # ] ! D
u ls Lhe dlameLer of Lhe cyllnder
! ls Lhe denslLy of Lhe uld
# Lhe vlscoslLy
! ls Lhe 8eynold's number
(whlch for mosL ulds has Lhe value beLween 2000 and 3000)
1he frlcuonal forces ln LurbulenL ow are greaLer Lhan ln lamlnar ow. 1herefore, as ow
becomes LurbulenL ls more dlmculL Lo force a uld Lhrough Lhe plpe.