Vascular Dynamics and the Endothelium

Abstract

As the heart rhythmically beats and ejects its periodic output, there are a wide range of phenomena that take place as the pressure pulse propagates through the vascular system. Initially, the interest in vascular dynamics was simply on this phenomenon of wave propagation, and workers such as Young, Frank, Moens, and Korteweg are associated with this earliest phase of research on vascular dynamics. As part of any attempt to explain pulse wave propagation, however, it became necessary to study the elastic and viscoelastic nature of the arterial wall as well as the variation of such properties throughout the various segments of the arterial tree. With such studies, and during the 1950s and 1960s, our understanding of the development of pressure and flow in the systemic circulation (Vascular dynamics at a system level) made considerable progress. The names associated with this period include Womersley, McDonald, Taylor, Fung, and Bergel. These investigations have been reviewed by Fung (1981, 1984) and McDonald (1974), including contributions from more recent studies.