We introduce a general approach for modeling blood flow and its associated structures in an arterial system of variable cross section and Young’s modulus. The general structure and approximations underlying our approach are based on the natural symmetry and characteristic configuration of structures that occur in an arterial system. Our approach, which is a representation of axially symmetric flow, uses a monovariable representation for both the flow field and mechanical properties. In addition, our formalism incorporates a deformation function whose form may in principle be deduced from experimental correlations between blood pressure and blood flow. The use of a deformation function provides a means for implicitly incorporating into the model system information about Young’s modulus associated with the response of the artery walls.

• Received 3 December 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.49.3432