MODELING INTERSTITIAL FLOW IN AN ARTERY WALL ALLOWS ESTIMATION OF WALL SHEAR-STRESS ON SMOOTH-MUSCLE CELLS

The arterial media is modeled as a periodic array of cylindrical smooth muscle cells residing in a matrix comprised of proteoglycan and collagen fibers. Using Brinkman's model to describe transmural flow through such a fibrous media, we calculate the effective hydraulic permeability of the media and the wall shear stress on smooth muscle cells. Two interesting results ave obtained: first, the wall shear stress on smooth muscle cells is on the order of 1 dyne/cm(2), which is in the range known to affect endothelial cells in vitro; second, the flow resistance due to smooth muscle cells is not negligible compared to the resistance due to the fiber matrix.