Study of biofluid mechanics at arterial bifurcations: importance of flow division ratio as a parameter

We re-examined the measurement of the mass flow ratio at model bifurcations as a function of the inlet Reynolds number, which has been used to study the role of arterial bifurcation in distal blood supply. However, this relationship was found not to be applicable to investigations of blood circulation, because the measured mass flow ratio is strongly dependent on the resistance downstream of the bifurcation, and therefore is specific to the experimental set-up. An alternative approach for studying the role of arterial bifurcation is presented, in which the flow division ratio is used as a parameter.