The lymphatic system consists of a network of vessels which work to return the
interstitial fluid back to the blood circulation. Individual units called lymphangions,
segments of lymphatic vessels between two valves, pump cyclically to propel lymph.
Lymphangions are similar to the heart in that they are sensitive to both preload and
afterload. To describe the heart independent of preload and afterload, investigators
developed the concept of time-varying elastance. We evaluated the applicability of this
concept to lymphangions by analyzing preliminary data obtained from the bovine
mesenteric vessels. We found that there were some limitations to the applicability of this
concept to lymphangions, as there was a high degree of variability with respect to
contraction strength and frequency of individual time-varying elastance curves. To better
characterize lymphangion mechanics, we built a device which would enable real-time
isobaric, isometric and isotonic experiments in vitro. We performed all three experiments
on lymphatic vessel segments and obtained input and output pressures, output flow,
instantaneous radii and wall tension. The characterization of the lymphangion using these
parameters can be the first step to simulate the behavior of a lymphatic vesssel and later
the behavior of an entire lymphatic system.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/1323 |
| Date | 17 February 2005 |
| Creators | Rajagopalan, Shruti |
| Contributors | Quick, Christopher M. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | 595781 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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