[Wall rheology and arterial hydrodynamics: theoretical and hydromechanical models (author's transl)]

Recent results in research on transport of macromolecules between blood and the arterial wall have shown that endothelial cells are very sensitive to mechanical events localised in the flow boundary layer. Cardiac pressure waves of finite amplitude are characterized by non linear propagation phenomena in which the fluid-wall interaction plays an important role through the wall rheology. Different models of the mechanical behavior of arterial wall have been studied and their influence on blood flow field have been analysed.