[Analogs and models of systemic arterial circulation].

This review article is primarily aimed at those researches using the experimental physiological approach and gives a survey of analogs and models of the systemic arterial blood flow. They are presented in increasing order of complexity in two sections: the "lumped" and the "distributed" parameter models. In the first section a brief description is given of the purely resistive, Windkessel and multi-element analogs with emphasis on their use in physiology for estimating several hemodynamic variables. The distributed parameter models, whose central idea is pulse wave propagation along the arterial tree, are then presented in five categories, using a new classification scheme. These categories are based on four criteria derived from the assumptions used in the formulation of the fluid and wall equations. The most recent non-linear models are treated in more detail with their common properteis as well as their particular contribution emphasized. In conclusion it is noted that the distributed parameter models also begin to be used to evaluate physiological variables in the experimental and clinical context and that this trend can only become more important in view of the advances made in the field of biomedical instrumentation.