Model of structural and functional adaptation of small conductance vessels to arterial hypotension

Hashimoto. Model of structural and functional adaptation of small conductance vessels to arterial hypotension. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 279: H1645–H1653, 2000.—Vascular net-works adapt structurally in response to local pressure and flow and functionally in response to the changing needs of tissue. Whereas most research has either focused on adaptation of the macrocirculation, which primarily transports blood, or the microcirculation, which primarily controls flow, the present work addresses adaptation of the small conductance vessels in between, which both conduct blood and resist flow. A simple hemodynamic model is introduced consisting of three parts: 1) bifurcating arterial and venous trees, 2) an empirical description of the microvasculature, and 3) a target shear stress depending on pressure. This simple model has the minimum requirements to explain qualitatively the ob