A small blood vessel near the skin surface has a radius of 10 µm, a length of 1 µm and the pressure drop along the blood vessel is 2.50 Pa. The viscosity of blood is 0.0027 Pa.s. i. What is the volume flow rate of blood through this blood vessel? What is the velocity of blood flow? ii. Vasodilation causes the radius of this blood vessel to increase to 12 µm, while leaving the pressure drop along the vessel unchanged? What is the volume flow rate through this blood vessel now? iii. What is the velocity of blood flow?
Fluid Pressure
The term fluid pressure is coined as, the measurement of the force per unit area of a given surface of a closed container. It is a branch of physics that helps to study the properties of fluid under various conditions of force.
Gauge Pressure
Pressure is the physical force acting per unit area on a body; the applied force is perpendicular to the surface of the object per unit area. The air around us at sea level exerts a pressure (atmospheric pressure) of about 14.7 psi but this doesn’t seem to bother anyone as the bodily fluids are constantly pushing outwards with the same force but if one swims down into the ocean a few feet below the surface one can notice the difference, there is increased pressure on the eardrum, this is due to an increase in hydrostatic pressure.
A small blood vessel near the skin surface has a radius of 10 µm, a length of 1 µm and the pressure drop along the blood vessel is 2.50 Pa. The viscosity of blood is 0.0027 Pa.s.
i. What is the volume flow rate of blood through this blood vessel? What is the velocity of blood flow?
ii. Vasodilation causes the radius of this blood vessel to increase to 12 µm, while leaving the pressure drop along the vessel unchanged? What is the volume flow rate through this blood vessel now?
iii. What is the velocity of blood flow?
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