ABSTRACT
This chapter contains a brief review of the cardiovascular physiology relevant to žuid mechanics in the human circulation. For a detailed study, the reader is referred to any textbook on physiology (e.g., Guyton and Hall (2000) or Silverthorn (2001) or their most recent editions). The cardiovascular system includes the heart and blood vessels of the systemic and pulmonary circulation. Fundamental requirements of the circulatory system are to provide adequate blood žow without interruption and to regulate blood žow according to the various demands of the body (Rushmer, 1976). The contracting heart supplies the energy required to maintain the blood žow through the vessels. The pressure gradient developed between the arterial and the venous end of the circulation is the driving force causing blood žow through the blood vessels. The energy is dissipated in the form of heat due to the frictional resistance. Blood picks up oxygen in the lungs and nutrients in the intestine and delivers them to the cells in all parts of the body. The circulating blood also removes cellular wastes and carbon dioxide from the cells for excretion through the kidneys and the lung, respectively. The circulating blood also maintains the visceral organs such as the heart, the kidney, the liver, and the brain at a constant temperature by convecting the heat generated in the core body region and dissipating the same through transfer across the skin. In the following brief review of the cardiovascular system, we will concentrate on the mechanical aspects of circulation.
