Physiological flows and transport #

Organisers: Daniel Netherwood and Mariia Dvoriashyna

Minisymposium abstract

The human body consists of about 60% fluids. These physiological fluids have many vital functions, among which are the maintenance of normal pressure levels (e.g. pressures in the eye and the brain), the transportation of oxygen, nutrients, and waste products (e.g. oxygen supply by blood, and clearance of metabolic waste by the lymphatic system), and the ability to provide liquid barriers and lubrication (e.g. tear film, mucus layer). Failure to adequately perform such functions can lead to many pathological conditions. The study of physiological fluid dynamics and transport is therefore not only relevant for our general understanding and interest in physiology, but also for the prevention and treatment of disease. Mathematical modelling has proven to be crucial in understanding and predicting the behaviour of physiological fluid flows and transport within various organs, such as the eye, brain, heart, ear, and lungs; as well as in tissue engineering. Whilst over the last 100 years, substantial efforts from the physical sciences have propelled our understanding of physiological fluid flow and transport, there is still a large variety of open problems that require a mathematician’s hand.

The modelling of problems related to physiological transport requires a variety of different mathematical techniques, including, but not limited to: deformation modelling, coupling fluid-structure interactions, elasticity theory, lubrication theory, poroelasticity theory, advection-diffusion systems, and homogenisation. In this mini-symposium, we will discuss some of the latest developments in the area of physiological fluid mechanics and transport in different organs, from the transport in the human placenta to microcirculation in the brain.

Physiological flows and transport #

Generalised tube laws for the deformation of elastic-walled tubes with arbitrary cross-sections #

Understanding the mechanism of unconventional drainage from the eye #

Modelling oxygen transport in the human cerebral microvasculature #

Modelling metabolite transport in hollow fibre membrane bioreactors #

Flow and transport in the human placenta: from multiscale imaging to structural determinants of function #

Oscillatory and steady streaming flow of cerebrospinal fluid during the cardiac cycle #