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Physiology & Medicine / How do solutes alter pressure in fluids?
« on: 08/10/2007 13:23:10 »
Planing to make an artificial artery and a vein to show how solutes flowing through vessels change the internal pressures. Have already observed pulsatile flow using small amounts of concentrated salt solution introduced at the top of an inverted U tube to show flow and return. Also observed the flow in a continuous loop of tubing, which showed clearly the expansion of the tube as the pulse of solutes flowed down due to the effects of gravity.
Peter Lewis, a vascular surgeon asked me a question, which intrigued me for a while now. This was, could I show how this flow system would accelerate the fluids down a tapering tube that resembles a main artery. After mulling the problem over for a while, I came up with this idea.
Obtain an artery from an abattoir either sheep or cow. Coat it in Vaseline and then apply several coats of clear silicon or latex to give more or less the same strength and elasticity as the original artery. The vein as we know is much softer than an artery so latex would be the way to go here.
When we have a tube joined at the bottom and top a T-junction in the tube located at the point where the lungs would according to my theory release a pulse of denser fluid into the artery. So we will also introduce small pulses of salt solution into our artificial circulation system while the whole loop of tube is filled with water. If all goes according to plan we should see a change in velocity as the tube thins where it joins the artificial vein. We should also see venous return generated by the falling solutes in the arterial side of the experiment.
I would very much like to involve a university with this experiment and ask if anyone in this forum could ask if this is possible to do under the close scrutiny of either a medical school or a physics / biology class. I suspect the results will give us a better understanding of the roll that gravity plays in the flow of blood through the lungs, arteries, and venous return. And much more.
Andrew
Peter Lewis, a vascular surgeon asked me a question, which intrigued me for a while now. This was, could I show how this flow system would accelerate the fluids down a tapering tube that resembles a main artery. After mulling the problem over for a while, I came up with this idea.
Obtain an artery from an abattoir either sheep or cow. Coat it in Vaseline and then apply several coats of clear silicon or latex to give more or less the same strength and elasticity as the original artery. The vein as we know is much softer than an artery so latex would be the way to go here.
When we have a tube joined at the bottom and top a T-junction in the tube located at the point where the lungs would according to my theory release a pulse of denser fluid into the artery. So we will also introduce small pulses of salt solution into our artificial circulation system while the whole loop of tube is filled with water. If all goes according to plan we should see a change in velocity as the tube thins where it joins the artificial vein. We should also see venous return generated by the falling solutes in the arterial side of the experiment.
I would very much like to involve a university with this experiment and ask if anyone in this forum could ask if this is possible to do under the close scrutiny of either a medical school or a physics / biology class. I suspect the results will give us a better understanding of the roll that gravity plays in the flow of blood through the lungs, arteries, and venous return. And much more.
Andrew