From Inverse Problems in Mathematical Physiology to Quantitative Differential Diagnoses
Figure 2
Schematic of the Simplified Model of the Cardiovascular System and Its Control
Blood is driven from the venous compartment with volume Vv to the arterial compartment with volume Va by the monoventricular heart, which contracts from its end-diastolic volume VED to its end-systolic volume VES. Reverse flow is prevented by a valve with resistance Rvalve. To complete the systemic circulation, flow from the arterial to the venous compartment has to overcome the total peripheral resistance RTPR. Baroreflex senses pressure Pa in the arterial compartment, and it processes the set point deviation through a sigmoidal nonlinearity and a linear element with low-pass characteristics, eventually affecting the actuators RTPR, unstressed venous volume , heart rate fHR, and myocardial contractility cPRSW. See text for details.