A SIMPLE-MODEL OF BLOOD-FLOW RATE REDUCTION IN HEMODYNAMIC DISORDERS OF THE SPLEEN

The structural rearrangement of human sheathed capillaries in congesti ve splenomegaly has been considered. In abnormal spleens the external diameter and wall thickness were decreased, while the internal diamete r was increased. Moreover, the total length and the absolute number of sheathed capillaries were increased, though not as much as the whole red pulp volume. Thus, in congestive splenomegaly, in addition to the well-known changes of the sinuses, the terminal arterial passages also appear to participate in the morphological rearrangement of the red p ulp. The purpose of this paper is to formulate a simple dynamic model explaining the reduction of blood flow rate in the pathologically modi fied spleen. The main advantage of the present approach is that the co efficients inserted in equations describing the physical phenomena hav e been eliminated from the final formulae. Consequently, the model doe s not require the determination of parameters by means of difficult ex perimental measurements.