A theoretical study of restricted convection-diffusion as applied to blood-tissue barrier exchange.

Abstract

This paper handles a model of the capillary function in the exchange of uncharged molecules between the blood and the tissue. The capillary system is subdivided into a filtering and a reabsorbing part. The exchange is assumed to occur through channels which are described in operational terms as pores. Through these pores there is a transport of solutes by concomitantly acting convection and diffusion influenced by a steric hinderance (restricted convection-diffusion). The outflux of glucose and raffinose is enhanced in the filtering pores, raffinose relatively more than glucose. In the reabsorbing pores the outward diffusion is hindered to some extent, raffinose relatively more than glucose. It is shown that the net effect of filtration and reabsorption is to increase the outflux of raffinose as compared to that of glucose. This mechanism may explain why glucose and raffinose and other small molecules appear to pass across capillary walls in proportion to their free diffusion coefficients and not in proportion to their restricted diffusion coefficients.