Scaling laws of vascular trees: of form and function Export

@article{citeulike:2808320, abstract = {The branching pattern and vascular geometry of biological tree structure are complex. Here we show that the design of all vascular trees for which there exist morphometric data in the literature (e.g., coronary, pulmonary; vessels of various skeletal muscles, mesentery, omentum, and conjunctiva) obeys a set of scaling laws that are based on the hypothesis that the cost of construction of the tree structure and operation of fluid conduction is minimized. The laws consist of scaling relationships between 1) length and vascular volume of the tree, 2) lumen diameter and blood flow rate in each branch, and 3) diameter and length of vessel branches. The exponent of the diameter-flow rate relation is not necessarily equal to 3.0 as required by Murray's law but depends on the ratio of metabolic to viscous power dissipation of the tree of interest. The major significance of the present analysis is to show that the design of various vascular trees of different organs and species can be deduced on the basis of the minimum energy hypothesis and conservation of energy under steady-state conditions. The present study reveals the similarity of nature's scaling laws that dictate the design of various vascular trees and the underlying physical and physiological principles. 10.1152/ajpheart.00579.2005}, author = {Kassab, Ghassan S.}, citeulike-article-id = {2808320}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00579.2005}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/290/2/H894.abstract}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/290/2/H894.full.pdf}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://ajpheart.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/2/H894}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16143652}, citeulike-linkout-5 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=16143652}, day = {1}, doi = {10.1152/ajpheart.00579.2005}, journal = {Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol}, keywords = {branching, cardiovascular, computation, murrays\_law, scaling, theory}, month = {February}, number = {2}, pages = {H894--903}, posted-at = {2008-05-17 23:11:07}, priority = {2}, title = {Scaling laws of vascular trees: of form and function}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00579.2005}, volume = {290}, year = {2006} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2808320 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2808320 N2 - The branching pattern and vascular geometry of biological tree structure are complex. Here we show that the design of all vascular trees for which there exist morphometric data in the literature (e.g., coronary, pulmonary; vessels of various skeletal muscles, mesentery, omentum, and conjunctiva) obeys a set of scaling laws that are based on the hypothesis that the cost of construction of the tree structure and operation of fluid conduction is minimized. The laws consist of scaling relationships between 1) length and vascular volume of the tree, 2) lumen diameter and blood flow rate in each branch, and 3) diameter and length of vessel branches. The exponent of the diameter-flow rate relation is not necessarily equal to 3.0 as required by Murray's law but depends on the ratio of metabolic to viscous power dissipation of the tree of interest. The major significance of the present analysis is to show that the design of various vascular trees of different organs and species can be deduced on the basis of the minimum energy hypothesis and conservation of energy under steady-state conditions. The present study reveals the similarity of nature's scaling laws that dictate the design of various vascular trees and the underlying physical and physiological principles. 10.1152/ajpheart.00579.2005 IS - 2 JF - Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol EP - 903 TI - Scaling laws of vascular trees: of form and function VL - 290 SP - H894 KW - branching KW - cardiovascular KW - computation KW - murrays_law KW - scaling KW - theory AU - Kassab, Ghassan PY - 2006/02/01/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00579.2005 ER -