Pulsatile Blood Flow in a Resistance Vessel

The quasi-one-dimensional Newtonian fluid flow in an active vessel in which the inlet pres- sure oscillates about a mean value is considered. The vascular wall is assumed to display the Bayliss effect and a reaction to changes in blood flow. The first is characterized by the dependence of the contractility of the vascular smooth-muscle cells on the intravascular pressure and the second by the sensitivity of the endothelial cells to the wall shear stress. The dependence of the period-average radius and blood flow rate on the mean value and pulsation amplitude and frequency of the inlet pressure is investigated numerically. The characteristics are compared for the passive vessel, the vessel with the Bayliss effect, and the vessel with both reactions.