A two-layer continuous-capillary oxygen transport model: Development and application to blood flow regulation in resting skeletal muscle.
Abstract
In skeletal muscle (SM), the microcirculation distributes blood flow to capillary networks to meet local oxygen (O2) demand. Experiments using intra-vital video microscopy (IVVM) have quantified blood flow and O2 supply in capillary networks, and using an O2 exchange chamber have measured local changes in blood flow believed due to O2-dependent regulation. However, IVVM is unable to simultaneously measure capillary O2 supply and SM O2 content, implying the need for theoretical models to understand how flow regulation and SM oxygenation interact. In this thesis, a novel blood-tissue O2 transport model using continuously distributed capillaries was developed to study SM O2 transport and flow regulation affected by an O2 chamber. The steady-state effects of the chamber on capillary and SM O2 were quantified for ranges of physiological and experimental parameters, and our simplified dynamic regulation model was shown to support current understanding of the local O2-dependent blood flow response in SM.