An Elastic Tube Theory of Pulse Transmission and Oscillatory Flow in Mammalian Arteries

Abstract : This work develops the concept of a thin walled elastic tube as a rough working model of an artery, and from a solution of the equations of motion of such a tube, filled with viscous liquid, a number of relationships are deduced that can be tested experimentally. The theory of pulse-wave transmission, and the relationships between pulse pressure, rate of flow, and radial expansion, are demonstrated as parts of a single logical structure. Some comparisons with experimental results are made and new experiments are proposed, as tests of the adequacy of the theory.