Influence of the immune system on the biological dynamics of the interstitial fluid pressure

Abstract

The increase of the interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) can be influenced by an immunological defense action followed by an edema formation depending on the inflammation level. Some causes that may lead to an abnormal IFP rising include the increasing of the capillary permeability and the extrapolation of the maximum lymphatic flow. These situations can lead to an accumulation of interstitial fluid because the incoming flux becomes greater than the outgoing one. This paper presents the first modeling steps that in the future will allow us to capture this dynamic completely. The simplified model presented in this work considers an inflammation due to unspecified bacteria, that are removed by neutrophils. All immunological process is modeled using an multi-phase model in a porous media and its interaction with the IFP.