Nonhuman primate model for regional wave travel and reflections along aortas.

Arterial pulse transmission and wave reflections were studied in five mature anesthetized baboons (Papio anubis) using multisensor micromanometry. Simultaneous pressures were recorded from the left ventricle and every 10 cm along the aorta and its terminal branches, and flow velocity was measured in the aortic root. Aortic input impedance and regional foot-to-foot and apparent phase velocities were calculated. Aortography provided dimensional data for local reflection coefficients. Regional foot-to-foot wave speeds were somewhat lower than corresponding segments in humans. Proximal aortic pressure waveforms and characteristic impedance (110 +/- 29 dyn X s X cm-5) were not characteristic of middle-aged humans. Reflection coefficients at the terminal aortic bifurcation (0.06) at the level of the renal artery branches (0.09) were less than those found in humans. We conclude that the junction of the renal artery branches and the aorta in the baboon is closely matched and represents much less of a discrete reflection site than in humans. Although the baboon may be used to study pulse transmission characteristics in the baboon, this species is not a good model for the proximal systemic reflective characteristics of normal middle-aged humans.