Early in development, the heart is a single muscle-wrapped tube without formed valves. Yet survival of the embryo depends on the ability of this tube to pump blood at steadily increasing rates and pressures. Developmental biologists historically have speculated that the heart tube pumps via a peristaltic mechanism, with a wave of contraction propagating from the inflow to the outflow end. Physiological measurements, however, have shown that the flow becomes pulsatile in character quite early in development, before the valves form. Here, we use a computational model for flow though the embryonic heart to explore the pumping mechanism. Results from the model show that endocardial cushions, which are valve primordia arising near the ends of the tube, induce a transition from peristaltic to pulsatile flow. Comparison of numerical results with published experimental data shows reasonably good agreement for various pressure and flow parameters. This study illustrates the interrelationship between form and function in the early embryonic heart.
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June 2007
Technical Papers
Computational Model for the Transition From Peristaltic to Pulsatile Flow in the Embryonic Heart Tube
Larry A. Taber,
Larry A. Taber
Fellow ASME
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
e-mail: lat@wustl.edu
Washington University
, Campus Box 1097, St. Louis, MO 63130
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Jinmei Zhang,
Jinmei Zhang
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Rochester
, Rochester, NY 14627
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Renato Perucchio
Renato Perucchio
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Rochester
, Rochester, NY 14627
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Larry A. Taber
Fellow ASME
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Washington University
, Campus Box 1097, St. Louis, MO 63130e-mail: lat@wustl.edu
Jinmei Zhang
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Rochester
, Rochester, NY 14627
Renato Perucchio
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Rochester
, Rochester, NY 14627J Biomech Eng. Jun 2007, 129(3): 441-449 (9 pages)
Published Online: October 26, 2006
Article history
Received:
July 6, 2006
Revised:
October 26, 2006
Citation
Taber, L. A., Zhang, J., and Perucchio, R. (October 26, 2006). "Computational Model for the Transition From Peristaltic to Pulsatile Flow in the Embryonic Heart Tube." ASME. J Biomech Eng. June 2007; 129(3): 441–449. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2721076
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