Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulations of Maternal Circulation: Wall Shear Stress in the Human Placenta and Its Biological Implications.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

In the human placenta the maternal blood circulates in the intervillous space (IVS). The syncytiotrophoblast (STB) is in direct contact with maternal blood. The wall shear stress (WSS) exerted by the maternal blood flow on the STB has not been evaluated. Our objective was to determine the physiological WSS exerted on the surface of the STB during the third trimester of pregnancy.

Material and methods

To gain insight into the shear stress levels that the STB is expected to experience in vivo, we have formulated three different computational models of varying levels of complexity that reflect different physical representations of the IVS. Computations of the flow fields in all models were performed using the CFD module of the finite element code COMSOL Multiphysic

SUBMITTER: Lecarpentier E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4729471 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature