MORPHOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF THE FLOW-CHARACTERISTICS BETWEEN AN ARTERY AND ITS BRANCH, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE OVARIAN SPIRAL ARTERY IN THE RABBIT

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The discovery of a spiral artery in the hilus of the rabbit ovary occasioned this study of morphological conditions affecting blood flow between an artery and its branches. Physiol. evidence indicates a considerable reduction of pressure and equalized blood distribution in the ovarian stroma. The role of the spiral artery in this connection is tentatively suggested from consideration of data on the flow of fluid in pipes, especially the deviation of the fastest moving particles from their axial position toward the outer curvature, with consequent increase in friction. From Hess''s demonstration of the relationship between arterial size and angle of branching, an empirical coeff. is derived for a particular ovarian spiral artery, K=(diam. of branch)/(diam. of stem x cosine of angle of branching). This ratio, established for branches of the spiral artery (in casts from injection-corrosion prepns.) agreed with similar ratios for other branches of the rabbit''s iliac artery.