A fully dynamical theory for the rate of arterial gas embolism growth and dissolution

An approximation that had been widely used for more than 70 years to estimate the concentration of a dissolved volatile solute at the external surface of a gas bubble was found to be inaccurate for small bubbles. The approximation was to assume that a Henry's law-based partition equilibrium determines the solute's concentration at the bubble's external surface. An alternative model is developed here, wherein solute exchange across the bubble surface, and solute diffusion in the medium next to the bubble, collectively determine the solute's concentration near the bubble's external surface. The previous model was found to predict both gas bubble growth and dissolution to be too rapid, for bubbles with a radius R≤20μ. We found that treating solute exchange across the bubble surface, and solute diffusion in the medium next to the bubble, as a collective dynamical process, was necessary to accurately model the dynamics of an arterial gas embolism (AGE) with a radius R≤20μ. An AGE of this size can block or interfere with blood flow through capillaries and arterioles.