Mathematical Models In Medicine

Title page -- Preface -- Contents -- Part I. Heart -- The Changing View of the HeartThrough the Centuries -- The Left Ventricular Ejection Effect -- Human Circulatory System Model Based On Frank's Mechanism -- Modelling Blood Flow in the Left Side of the Heart -- Part II: Arterial Tree -- Models of the Arterial Tree -- A One-Dimensional Fluid Dynamic Model of the Systemic Arteries -- Measurement of Arterial Compliance In Vivo -- Models of the Venous System -- Part III: Baroreceptor Control -- General Compartmental Models of the Cardiovascular System -- Modelling the Interaction Among Several Mechanisms in the Short-term Arterial Pressure Control -- Short term Autonomic Nervous Control of the Cardiovascular System: A System Theoretic Approach -- A Baroreflex Model of Short Term Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Variability -- Part IV: Applications for Simulators -- Mathematical Models Behind Advanced Simulators in Medicine -- Cognitive Studies of Ethical Reasoning Basedon the KARDIO-simulator -- Index -- Author Index

This work contains the congresses from a 1976 conference at Mainz, which evaluated the possibilities and limitations of mathematical models in the medical field.

The result of lectures given by the authors at New York University, the University of Utah, and Michigan State University, the material is written for students who have had only one term of calculus, but it contains material that can be used in modeling courses in applied mathematics at all levels through early graduate courses. Numerous exercises are given as well as solutions to selected exercises, so as to lead readers to discover interesting extensions of that material. Throughout, illustrations depict physiological processes, population biology phenomena, corresponding models, and the results of computer simulations. Topics covered range from population phenomena to demographics, genetics, epidemics and dispersal; in physiological processes, including the circulation, gas exchange in the lungs, control of cell volume, the renal counter-current multiplier mechanism, and muscle mechanics; to mechanisms of neural control. Each chapter is graded in difficulty, so a reading of the first parts of each provides an elementary introduction to the processes and their models.

A unique assemblage of cutting-edge research on mathematical models in biology and medicine. This book is composed of refereed and carefully edited research articles derived from the Conference on Mathematical Models in Medical and Health Sciences, held at Vanderbilt University in conjunction with the thirteenth annual Shanks Lectures Series (May 1997).

The construction of mathematical models is an essential scientific activity. Mathematics is associated with developments in science and engineering, but more recently mathematical modelling has been used to investigate complex systems that arise in other fields. This book demonstrates the application of mathematics to research topics in ecology and environmental science, health and medicine, phylogenetics and neural networks, theoretical chemistry, economics and management.

The aim of this book is to introduce the subject of mathematical modeling in the life sciences. It is intended for students of mathematics, the physical sciences, and engineering who are curious about biology. Additionally, it will be useful to students of the life sciences and medicine who are unsatisfied with mere description and who seek an understanding of biological mechanism and dynamics through the use of mathematics. The book will be particularly useful to premedical students, because it will introduce them not only to a collection of mathematical methods but also to an assortment of phenomena involving genetics, epidemics, and the physiology of the heart, lung, and kidney. Because of its introductory character, mathematical prerequisites are kept to a minimum; they involve only what is usually covered in the first semester of a calculus sequence. The authors have drawn on their extensive experience as modelers to select examples which are simple enough to be understood at this elementary level and yet realistic enough to capture the essence of significant biological phenomena drawn from the areas of population dynamics and physiology. Because the models presented are realistic, the book can serve not only as an introduction to mathematical methods but also as a mathematical introduction to the biological material itself. For the student, who enjoys mathematics, such an introduction will be far more stimulating and satisfying than the purely descriptive approach that is traditional in the biological sciences.