Skeletal muscle energy metabolism: spatially lumped vs. one-dimensional blood flow models

To quantify the changes in energy metabolism and its regulation during exercise in working skeletal muscle, a mathematical model of muscle bioenergetics has been developed which links various cellular metabolic processes to skeletal muscle responses. Currently, skeletal muscle is represented as a well-mixed tissue-blood compartment. Alternatively, the muscle could be represented as a well-mixed tissue space in which perfusion occurs primarily along one spatial coordinate. The purpose of this study is to determine how the effects of a spatially distributed perfusion can alter the quantitative interpretation of experimental data by comparing predicted responses by these models to physiological observations. In conclusion, the selected model will be used to predict skeletal muscle metabolic changes during the rest-to-exercise transition.