Prof. dr hab.

Zbigniew Dunajski

Zakad Biofizyki i Fizjol. Cz. Warsaw

Medical University

English Division

Pressure

F
force
Newton
p
Pascal
2
S
area
m

p0

h
p p 0 h

Cinienie

F
sila
Newton
p
Pascal
S
przekrj
m2

p0

h
p p 0 h

Hydrostatic pressure

Prof. dr hab. Zbigniew Dunajski

Basic features and parameters of flow

A fluid, any medium that can flow, including gases, and liquids
such as water.

Flow is volume/unit time (Flow = velocity x cross

sectional area of the vessel)

Q vA
Flow is usually more important than velocity in the
cardiovascular system because the amount of a material that is
brought to or carried away from an organ is determined by the
volume of blood passing through an organ each minute, not by
the velocity of the blood.

Bernoulli's law
The flow of a fluid through a pipe is described by
Bernoulli's equation, which is an application of
the law of conservation of mechanical energy to a
moving fluid:

v
P gh
const
2
2

here P is the pressure of the fluid, its density, h its

height and v its velocity, g= 9.81acceleration

Bernoulli's law

v12

v 22
P1
P2
2
2

v
v
2 2
2 2
P2 P1

P1 (v1 v2 ) P1 (v2 v1 )
2
2
2
2
2
1

v 2 v1

2
2

P2 P1

Bernoulli's law

2
p v const
2
2
2
p1 v1 p 2 v 2
2
2

 v2
P gh
const
2
Jeeli zaniedba zmian wysokoci odcinkw rury, to wzr upraszcza si do:

W rurze o mniejszym przekroju ciecz pynie szybciej (v1 >v2 ), w zwizku z tym panuje w niej mniejsze cinienie
ni w rurze o wikszym przekroju.
Ciecz pync w rurze o zmieniajcym si przekroju ma mniejsze cinienie na odcinku, gdzie przekrj jest
mniejszy.
Podana wyej wasno cieczy bya znana przed sformuowaniem rwnania przez Bernoulliego i nie potrafiono
jej wytumaczy, stwierdzenie to i obecnie kci si ze "zdrowym rozsdkiem" wielu ludzi i dlatego znane jest pod
nazw paradoks hydrodynamiczny.

Conservation of flow
Flow = Volume/time=velocity x cross sectional
area of the vessel

V = x*s = v*t*s
s

Q = V/t = v*t*s/t = v*s

x
Q2

Q1

Q1 = Q 2 + Q 3
Q3
v2

v1
s1

s2

v1*s1 = v2*s2

 For a liquid moving along a horizontal tube, the flow (Q) is

proportional to the pressure difference P between the
ends of the tube

(P)
Q
R

where R is the resistance of the tube. Note the similarity

with Ohm's Law:- I = V/R
There are two types of flow, laminar (streamline) and
turbulent. In streamline flow an individual liquid molecule
remains at the same distance from the walls of the vessel
as it travels down it and the further the molecule is from
the wall, the faster it moves and the flow is silent.

Laminar (streamline) flow

Turbulent flow occurs when individual molecules move

irregularly. Turbulent flow is noisy. Most flow in the
cardiovascular system is streamline.

Przepyw laminarny

Hagen-Poiseuille law
The laminar flow through a pipe is described by the
Hagen-Poiseuille law, stating that the flow rate (Q =
volume of fluid flowing per unit time) is proportional to
the pressure difference P between the ends of the pipe
and the fourth power of its radius r.

r P
Q
8l
4

- viscosity The internal friction that causes the velocity gradient

is called the viscosity
the vessel in consideration is a small artery or an arteriole.

Flow is proportional to the pressure difference P

between the ends of the pipe and the fourth power
of its radius r.

(P )
Q
R
R resistance of the vessel Ohms low I = V/R

r P
Q
8l
4

8l
R 4
r

resistance of the vessel decreases with r to 4 power

2 16
4

Hemodynamics: Stenosed Carotid Bifurcation

Local blood flow patterns play an important role in the development,
diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease. Recent advances in medical
imaging make it possible to image 3D vascular anatomy with sub-millimeter
resolution. This data forms the basis for computer simulations of blood flow
through real vascular geometries. Flow patterns downstream of a stenosis
provide conditions for plaque and blood clot formation, leading to stroke.

Hemodynamics: Coronary Bypass Graft

These two animations show the results of pulsatile computational fluid dynamics studies in
simplified models of the distal end of a coronary bypass graft. In the animation on the left, the
presence of a graft downstream (i.e. to the right) of the stenosis (far left) and branch produces
relatively slow flow in the host between the graft and branch. In the movie on the right, the
graft has been placed close to the stenosis, and upstream of the branch, producing much faster
and more uniform flow in the host.

Animation provided by Dr. David Steinmans research group.

Computer Modeling of the Microcirculation

Since the 3D nature of microvascular networks is often difficult to portray on paper, new
image analysis tools for investigating microvascular oxygen transport using intravital video
microscopy (IVVM) are being developed. With a few simple computer imaging techniques,
and specialized freeware, the microvasculature can be modeled in all its dimensions
virtually.

Movie acquired through

IVVM

3D Computer model of
microvasculature based on IVVM