On descriptive and interpretive abilities of arterial system models

Two models of the systemic arterial circulation, the asymmetric T-tube and a 6-element model, were evaluated on descriptive and interpretive criteria. With aortic flow as input, model parameters were optimized to predict aortic pressure for two experimental conditions: control and after balloon inflation in the external iliac artery. The models predict pressure with equally high accuracy. However, changes in T-tube model parameters following inflation were physiologically consistent but the 6-element model parameters were wildly variable and inconsistent. We conclude that descriptive abilities of the models are comparable but interpretive abilities of the T-tube model exceed those of the 6-element one.