Pulsatile Flow in an Elastic Tube

Abstract

Blood vessels are not rigid. Oscillatory flow in an elastic tube differs in a fundamental way from oscillatory flow in a rigid tube (Fig. 5.1). In a rigid tube, as the driving pressure increases to a peak during the systolic (rising pressure) phase of the oscillatory cycle, the flow can only move faster along the tube. In the case of an elastic tube the flow has another option, namely that of inflating the tube locally as well as moving faster along the tube, the balance between the two options being dependent on the degree of elasticity of the tube.