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Y C Fung

Publications and source records attributed to Y C Fung.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

A model of the lung structure and its validation.

As a framework to describe the structure of the lung, a theory is presented under the assumptions that all alveoli are initially equal and space filling, are ventilated as uniformly as possible, and obey the laws of elasticity. A combination of the tetrakaidecahedron (14-hedron) and the order-2 14-hedron formed by 14 14-hedra surrounding a central one that is perforated for ventilation meets the requirements. Alveolar ductal tree is formed by these order-2 polyhedra. Equilibrium and elasticity require the alveolar mouths to be curved and convex toward the alveolar wall. Perforation of additional walls causes a variety of alveolar shapes. The predicted shapes of the alveoli, the shapes of alveolar mouths, the lengths of sacs and ducts, the statistics of the dihedral angles, stars, corners, lines, dots, and vertices compare well with available morphometric data. The vascular and bronchial trees are joined at the alveolar level: each arteriole supplies 0.75 and each venule drains 0.72 order-2 polyhedra.

Lung↗
PubMed1988

Microrheology and constitutive equation of soft tissue.

The connection between microrheology and the constitutive equation of soft tissue is illustrated by an example of the incremental bulk modulus of the lung. It is shown that the following pieces of information are needed in order to make the connection: The detailed structure of the tissue embodied in a mathematical model, the morphometric data on the structural elements, the rheologic data of the materials, and the configuration at zero-stress state, or equivalently, the stress and strain at a homeostatic state. In the case of the lung, we have information on the first three items, but not the last one. Hence hypotheses have to be introduced concerning the homeostatic condition, the most important of which are the uniform fiber stress and the "optimal design" assumptions. We have shown that these data and hypotheses lead to theoretical results that are in good agreement with experimental observations.

Cell Membrane↗
PubMed1987

Lungs under cyclic compression and expansion.

The pressure-volume relationship of lungs subjected to repeated compression and expansion is studied in detail. The investigation was motivated by an attempt to understand why lungs are frequently injured by compression waves; hence the lung was compressed to a degree greater than normally encountered in physiological conditions. Attention was focused on the collapse of the lung at a critical strain and the reopening of the trap at a critical stress. We found that when a rabbit lung is compressed, about one-half to one-quarter of its gas may be trapped in the alveoli because of the closure of airways. Reopening of the trap occurs at a pressure higher than the critical pressure for collapsing. The difference of the critical pressures of collapsing and reopening is influenced by the rate of strain and the strain history, especially by the maximum compressive stress imposed on the lung. The stress-strain relationship of the lung tissue, which resembles the PV curves, depends strongly on the strain history.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Biaxial mechanical properties of human pericardium and canine comparisons.

The two-dimensional mechanical properties of human pericardium from seven males undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery were studied. A 25-mm square piece of parietal pericardium overlying the right ventricle was excised. An approximately 8-mm square target was marked at the center, and its dimension was measured electrooptically. When immersed in physiological saline at 37 degrees C, the specimen was subjected to biaxial isotropic loading. Large deformations developed in the beginning of the loading; the pericardium became increasingly stiffer when load was increased, and then became almost inextensible. As in canine pericardium [Lee et al., Am. J. Physiol. 249 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 18): H222-H230, 1985], hysteresis was present and tension-stretch relationship was insensitive to loading frequency during cyclic loading, relaxation of tension was substantial, and creep was insignificant. Unlike canine specimens, however, human pericardium was nearly isotropic and almost three times as thick [mean 0.55 +/- 0.02 mm (SD)]. The human tension-area relation for isotropic loading could be described by an exponential function and was found to shift significantly to the left of the canine. Therefore, human pericardium is less extensible than canine.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Collagen and elastin fibers in human pulmonary alveolar mouths and ducts.

To provide a quantitative basis for the understanding of the mechanical properties of the lung tissue, the morphology of the pulmonary alveolar ducts was studied and the dimensions of the collagen and elastin fiber bundles in the alveolar mouths were measured. Statistical data are presented in this report. It was found that the probability frequency functions of the widths of both the collagen and elastin fibers are skewed to the right, but the fourth roots of the widths are normally distributed. Hence, knowing the mean and standard deviation of (width)1/4, the probability of finding fiber bundles of width D is known. On the other hand, we already know the analytic expressions of the strain energy per unit length of fibers of given width. With the probability distribution of width and an estimation of the length of alveolar mouths, the strain energy of the alveolar mouths can be computed. Then the contribution of the alveolar mouths to the stress in the lung parenchyma due to any strain can be obtained by a differentiation of the strain energy function with respect to that strain.

Autopsy↗
PubMed1986

A constitutive model for two-dimensional soft tissues and its application to experimental data.

A constitutive relation proposed by Shoemaker (Ph.D. dissertation, 1984) to model the mechanical behavior of membraneous or two-dimensional soft tissues is described. Experiments by Schneider (Ph.D. dissertation, 1982) on human skin and Lee et al. (Am. J. Physiol., 249, H222-H230, 1985) on canine pericardium, and the application of the constitutive model to biaxial stress-strain data from these experiments, are discussed. Some experimental data and predictions of the model obtained by curvefitting are presented for comparison. Values of material parameters are also presented. It is concluded that the constitutive model is well able to fit results of individual tests, and that its generality (judged by consistency of parameters from test to test of the same specimen), though not complete, does compare favorably with some other results presented in the literature.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

An analysis of the sluicing gate in pulmonary blood flow.

For pulmonary blood flow in zone 2 condition, in which the blood pressure in the venule (pven) is lower than the alveolar gas pressure (pA), the blood exiting from the capillary sheet and entering a venule must go through a sluicing gate. The sluicing gate exists because the venule remains patent while the capillaries will collapse when the static pressure of blood falls below the alveolar gas pressure. In the original theory of sheet flow the effect of the tension in the interalveolar septa on the flow through the sluicing gate was ignored. Since the tension multiplied by the curvature of the membrane is equivalent to a lateral pressure tending to open the gate, and since the curvature of the capillary wall is high in the gate region, this effect may be important. The present analysis improves the original theory and demonstrates that the effect of membrane tension is to cause flow to increase when the venous pressure continues to decrease. The shape of the sluicing gate resembles that of a venturi tube, and can be determined by an iterative integration of the differential equations. The result forms an important link in the theory of pulmonary blood flow in zone 2 condition.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed1986

A new theory of pulmonary blood flow in zone 2 condition.

In pulmonary blood flow, if arterial pressure (Pa) and pleural pressure (Ppl) were fixed, the flow increases with decreasing venous pressure (Pv) only when venule pressure (Pven) greater than airway pressure (PA) (i.e., in zone 3). When Pven less than or equal to PA (i.e., in zone 2), with Pa fixed, the flow decreases with decreasing Pv. The pressure-flow relationship has a hysteresis loop. This phenomenon can be explained by conservation of mass and momentum and the morphology and material properties of the lung, including the observation that reseparation of adhered cells requires an extra force. The key mathematical observation is that the solution h = 0 (h being the blood sheet thickness in the interalveolar septa) can coexist with the solution h not equal to 0 in zone 2 condition, resulting in "patchy" filling of the alveolar walls. When h = 0, the sheet is collapsed and endothelial cells adhere. Experimental results show that the adhered endothelial cells do not reseparate by raising Pv in zone 2 but can be accomplished under zone 3 condition.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Speed of stress wave propagation in lung.

The speed of stress waves in the lung parenchyma was investigated to understand why, among all internal organs, the lung is the most easily injured when an animal is subjected to an impact loading. The speed of the sound is much less in the lung than that in other organs. To analyze the dynamic response of the lung to impact loading, it is necessary to know the speed of internal wave propagation. Excised lungs of the rabbit and the goat were impacted with water jet at dynamic pressure in the range of 7-35 kPa (1-5 psi) and surface velocity of 1-15 m/s. The stress wave was measured by pressure transducer. The distance between the point of impact and the sensor at another point on the far side of the lung and the transit time of the stress wave were measured. The wave speed in the goat lung was found to vary from 31.4 to 64.7 m/s when the transpulmonary pressure Pa-Ppl was varied from 0 to 20 cmH2O where Pa represents airway pressure and Ppl represents pleural pressure. In rabbit lung the wave speed varied from 16.5 to 36.9 m/s when Pa-Ppl was varied from 0 to 16 cmH2O. Using measured values of the bulk modulus, shear modulus, and density of the parenchyma, reasonable agreement between theoretical and experimental wave speeds were obtained.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Poiseuille Award lecture. New trends in biorheology.

A trend of engineering approach to physiology is to predict physiological events with mathematical accuracy. In order to achieve this objective, it is necessary to know the structure of the organs and the mechanical properties of their components; i.e., the anatomy, histology, and rheology of the system. Then one must perform the analysis rationally, avoiding ad hoc assumptions as far as possible. To illustrate this aspiration, procedure, labor, and rewards, the case of pulmonary circulation is discussed. For cat lung, anatomical and rheological data were collected; biorheological analysis was done, and physiological experiments were compared with theoretical predictions. Satisfactory results were obtained. The case of flow under zone 2 condition, when "waterfall phenomenon" prevails, is especially interesting. We proved theoretically that any partial collapse of an interalveolar septum is unstable. Hence if a collapse is initiated in an interalveolar septum, the whole septum will be collapsed. From this theoretical result, the pressure-flow relationship is predicted and is shown to agree well with the experiment. New trends toward cell biology and molecular approach are evident in this meeting. Some anticipated trends are, however, still slow in coming.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The development of mechanical strength of surgically anastomosed arteries sutured with Dexon.

The strength of surgically anastomosed arteries of the rat sutured with Dexon thread is studied. The abdominal aortas and the carotid arteries were severed, sutured and then the wounds were closed and the animal healed. After a specific period of time up to 13 months, the vessels were taken out and tested in uniaxial loading condition. The stress-strain relationship of the vessels was measured, and then the vessels were pulled to failure. It was found that the strength of the anastomosis was the lowest in about 4 months. In the first day, the force at failure was about the same as that of the control. Then the strength decreased with time, until a minimum was reached in 4-6 months. The tensile force to failure was about 25% of the control for the carotid artery and 49% of the control for the abdominal aorta. The corresponding values of the tensile stress at failure were 17 and 11%, respectively. The different percentages of forces and stresses were caused by the thickening of the vessel wall in the neighborhood of the suture line in the healing process. After 4-6 months, the strength gained again. At 13 months, the strength of the anastomosis was about the same as that of the control. The stretch ratio at failure was approximately constant through all periods.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

How many pulmonary alveoli are supplied by a single arteriole and drained by a single venule?

A detailed measurement of histological specimens of the lungs of the cat shows that each terminal precapillary vessel (arteriole) supplies, on the average, 24.5 pulmonary alveoli; each terminal postcapillary vessel (venule) drains, on the average, 17.8 alveoli. These numbers link pulmonary alveolar blood flow in capillary sheets with the flow in pulmonary arteries and veins which are cylindrical tubes. They are key numbers needed for hemodynamic analysis. In the literature, these numbers are variously speculated to be 1 or smaller; thus our results correct, even though only for the cat, an important concept.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Active contractions of ureteral segments.

The first step in the analysis of the biomechanics of any organ is to obtain its constitutive equation. In pursuit of a constitutive equation describing the peristalsis of the ureter, we measured the relationship between the length of the muscle, the velocity of contraction, and the active tension development of isolated ureter segments. The results of length-tension measurements (giving the maximum tension developed in isometric contraction of a ureter segment of specific length) were similar to those obtained by previous investigators and reflected the behavior of length-tension relationship for other smooth muscles. Two aspects of the force-velocity relationship of the ureter were examined: the effect of releasing the ureter at different times after stimulation, and that at different levels of afterload. Measurements were analyzed using the hyperbolic Hill's equation in the form T/T0 = (1-v/v0) (l + cv/v0)-1 where v is the velocity of contraction, v0 is the velocity of contraction when T = 0, T is the tension in the muscle after release, T0 is the tension in the muscle immediately prior to release, and c is the dimensionless constant. The results of force-velocity measurements showed that the so-called "maximum" velocity v0, is the largest if the tension is released at a time of contraction, early in the rise portion of the contraction cycle. Further, if tension is released from an isometric contraction at a fixed time in the rise portion of the contraction cycle, the largest value of v0 is obtained when the muscle length is in the range of 0.85-0.90 Lmax. Interestingly, the in vivo length of the ureter lies also in this range, 0.85-0.90 Lmax.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

On the detection of messages carried in arterial pulse waves.

The hypothesis is made that a disturbance in blood flow at one place can be detected in the arterial pulse waves at a distant site. This hypothesis was motivated by the traditional Chinese medicine which uses arterial pulse waves as a principal means of diagnosis. We formulated a test by asking whether a disturbance to the blood flow in a leg can be detected by changes in the pulse waves in the radial arteries. In particular, we ask whether the radial artery can differentiate a disturbance in the right leg from that in the left leg. We put force transducers on the radial arteries, depressed them by a specific amount, and recorded the force waves in response to a 2-min occlusion of the blood flow in the right or left tibial artery. The results show that the radial artery force waves do change in response to the flow disturbance. For a given individual, the force varies with the location of the force transducer on the radial artery, the specific amount of initial depression, and the right or left leg occlusion. Generally, an occlusion in the right leg reduces the force level in both radial arteries, the more so in the right radial artery than in the left. Although the discrimination is not very strong, the phenomenon is novel, and warrants further investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Biaxial mechanical properties of the pericardium in normal and volume overload dogs.

The two-dimensional mechanical properties of the pericardium from dogs with a normal or chronically enlarged heart were studied in vitro. A 3.0-cm-square piece of the pericardium overlying the right and/or left ventricle was excised. An approximately 1.0-cm-square target was marked at the center, and its dimension was measured electrooptically. When immersed in physiological saline at 37 degrees C, the specimen was stretched and unloaded sinusoidally in one direction while force in the transverse direction was held constant. The tension-stretch relationship was highly reproducible and was insensitive to strain rate in the range of 0.002-0.1 Hz. Hysteresis was present. The pericardium was mostly anisotropic; however, the direction of maximal compliance varied among dogs. The elastic properties of the pericardium overlying the left and right ventricles were the same in most cases. Substantial stress relaxation was observed; in contrast, insignificant creep developed over 30 min. In five dogs with chronic cardiac dilatation due to an infrarenal aortocaval shunt, the tension-stretch curves were shifted significantly to the right (i.e., greater deformation at the same tension level). However, the pericardial viscoelastic properties and thickness were unchanged. In other words, chronic cardiac dilatation resulted in a more compliant pericardium.

Animals↗