12 February 2004
Respiration: Tree of life
The bronchial tree of the human lung is a good example of an efficient distribution system, close to providing maximum efficiency in assuring air distribution with minimal dissipation. But the bronchi are in fact little larger than optimal, occupying a somewhat larger volume than strictly necessary. A mathematical simulation of the lung system now shows why that may be. The physically optimal system would be dangerously sensitive to fluctuations or physiology variability. The slightly oversized system has a safety margin with respect to resistance, at the cost of increased dead space, requiring a larger tidal volume. A more 'optimal' design of the airway tree would be dangerous.
An optimal bronchial treemay be dangerous
B. MAUROY, M. FILOCHE, E. R. WEIBEL & B. SAPOVAL
Nature 427, 633–636 (2004); doi:10.1038/nature02287
| First
Paragraph | Full
Text (HTML / PDF) |
