Do Vascular Networks Branch Optimally or Randomly across Spatial Scales?

ABSTRACT: Modern models that derive allometric relationships between metabolic rate and body mass are based on the architectural design of the cardiovascular system and presume sibling vessels are symmetric in terms of radius, length, flow rate, and pressure. Here, we study the cardiovascular structure of the human head and torso and of a mouse lung based on three-dimensional images processed via our software Angicart. In contrast to modern allometric theories, we find systematic patterns of asymmetry in vascular branching, potentially explaining previously documented mismatches between predictions (power-law or concave curvature) and observed empirical data (convex curvature) for the allometric scaling of metabolic rate. To examine why these systematic asymmetries in vascular branching might arise,

SUBMITTER: Tekin E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5130167 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature