Blood flow through the human arterial system in the presence of a steady magnetic field.

The effects of the interaction between a magnetic field and the haemodynamics of the arterial system have been studied. An analysis of a supine subject has been carried out in the presence of an externally applied magnetic field. A finite-element technique has been used to solve the magnetohydrodynamics of the fluid flow problem in a network of rigid tubes. The analysis is carried out by considering arteries as rigid tubes, i.e. the arterial expansion is neglected. In real situations, the arteries are elastic. The method requires the derivation of an expression of the conductance of a single artery in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. Computational results corresponding to two different sets of boundary conditions have been obtained. The quantitative effects of intensity and orientation of the applied magnetic field in the presence and absence of stenosis in the aortic arch are presented and discussed.