A mathematical model of interstitial transport. II. Microvascular exchange in mesentery

A simplified version of the model of interstitial transport developed earlier (D. G. Taylor, J. L. Bert, and B. D. Bowen, 1990, Microvasc. Res. 39, 253-278) is used to investigate microvascular exchange of fluid and a single "aggregate" plasma protein species in mesenteric tissue. The interstitium is approximated by a rigid, rectangular, porous slab displaying two fluid pathways, only one of which is available to plasma proteins. The model is used to explore the effects of the interstitial plasma protein diffusivity, the tissue hydraulic conductivity, the restricted convection of plasma proteins, and the mesothelial transport characteristics on the steady-state distribution and transport of plasma proteins and flow of fluid in the tissue. The simulations predict significant convective plasma protein transport and complex fluid flow patterns within the interstitium. These flow patterns can produce local regions of high fluid and plasma protein exchange along the mesothelium which might be erroneously identified as "leaky sites."