ABSTRACT
The arterial circulation is a multiply branched network of compliant tubes. The geometry of the network is complex, and the vessels exhibit nonlinear viscoelastic behavior. Flow is pulsatile, and the blood flowing through the network is a suspension of red blood cells and other particles in plasma that exhibits complex non-Newtonian properties. Whereas the development of an exact biomechanical description of arterial hemodynamics is a formidable task, surprisingly useful results can be obtained with greatly simplified models.
