Abstract
The effect of vasomotion at the level of arterioles on the exchange of fluid in the microcirculation of skeletal muscle is analyzed by means of a model. We assume that vasomotion causes intermittent flow in such a fashion that when flow stops in the capillaries, their pressure equilibrates with that of the nearest venules. Under this condition the whole capillary absorbs fluid from the interstitium. The tissue pressure is calculated by assuming the fluid in the interstitium moves freely and has the overall average hydraulic pressure which results from the exchange in flowing and nonflowing capillaries. We find that the absorption of fluid during the no-flow portion of the vasomotor cycle constitutes an additional mechanism by which fluid is extracted from the tissue, and consequently, when vasomotion is present fluid exchange as well as tissue pressure is substantially reduced. The average capillary pressure deduced from the available microvascular data is high when related to comparable values on isogravimetric capillary pressures. This causes both the overall rate of exchange and the tissue pressure to have comparatively high values. If we assume that capillary pressures in vivo and in situ correspond to those found in isogravimetric experiments, fluid exchange is comparatively lower and tissue pressure can be negative.
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