Venous abnormalities contribute to the pathophysiology of several neurological conditions. This paper reviews the literature regarding venous abnormalities in multiple sclerosis (MS), leukoaraiosis, and normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). The review is supplemented with hydrodynamic analysis to assess the effects on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics and cerebral blood flow (CBF) of venous hyp...

In this study, we measured the characteristic renal impedance profiles of Wistar rats and simulated the profiles using an electrical model with three series connected Windkessel blocks containing inductance. It is expected that a complete renal impedance profile ought to provide better physical properties information and have more diagnostic power than the pulsatility (PI) and resistive indices...

• In 1834, Ernst Heinrich Weber, Carl Ludwig's pi-edeeessor in Leipzig, proposed that during the systolic phase of cardiac cycles, the heart accelerated only the ejected blood volume, which was temporarily stored in the large arteries and forwarded to the tissues during diastole. He postulated that the distensibility of the arterial tree enabled it to receive the ejected stroke volume and that ...

BACKGROUND Computer supported, interactive e-learning systems are widely used in the teaching of physiology. However, the currently available complimentary software tools in the field of the physiology of cardiovascular mechanics have not yet been adapted to the latest systems software. Therefore, a simple-to-use replacement for undergraduate and graduate students' education was needed, includi...

To relate the subcellular molecular events to organ level physiology in heart, we have developed a three-dimensional finite-element-based simulation program incorporating the cellular mechanisms of excitation-contraction coupling and its propagation, and simulated the fluid-structure interaction involved in the contraction and relaxation of the human left ventricle. The FitzHugh-Nagumo model an...

This study focuses on elucidating how ventricular afterloading conditions affect the time course of change of left ventricular pressure (LVP) throughout the cardiac cycle, with particular emphasis on revealing specific limitations in the time-varying elastance model of ventricular dynamics. Studies were performed in eight isolated canine hearts ejecting into a simulated windkessel afterload. LV...

Normally, central elastic arteries (e.g., aorta and common carotid artery) effectively buffer cardiac pulsation-induced flow/pressure fluctuations. With advancing age, arterial stiffening deteriorates this function and produces the greater cerebral hemodynamic pulsatility that impacts vulnerable brain tissue. It is well known that the buffering function of the central artery is improved by regu...

The present investigation sought to determine the extent to which primary changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) might influence the calculated aortic impedance. In seven open-chest, anesthetized, autonomically blocked dogs, we measured aortic impedance using white-noise analysis at various levels of MAP achieved by adjusting the height of a left atrial reservoir rather than by pharmacological...

OBJECTIVE To assess baroreflex intervention during increase in left ventricular afterload, we compared the effects of aortic banding on the intact cardiovascular system and under hexamethonium infusion. METHODS Six open-chest pigs, instrumented for measurement of aortic pressure and flow, left ventricular pressure and volume, were studied under pentobarbital-sufentanil anesthesia. Vascular ar...

Arterial compliance measurements using intraarterial pulse contour analysis and a modified Windkessel model were carried out in 19 patients with isolated systolic hypertension (> or = 160/< or = 90 mm Hg) and compared to measurements in 29 patients with essential hypertension (diastolic blood pressure [BP] > or = 95 mm Hg) and 47 normotensive control subjects. Arterial capacitive compliance was...