Flow Structure Around Renal Arterial Branch During Pulsatile Flow

The arterial branch from abdominal artery to renal artery is one of the predilection sites of atherosclerosis. In the present study, we have experimentally clarified the hemodynamic structure such as the velocity profile and the wall shear stress during pulsatile flow in a branch model where the renal artery bifurcates from the abdominal aorta. The hemodynamic structure around the renal arterial branch is characterized the gradient of wall shear stress which distinctly changes around the entrance corner to renal artery. As approaching this corner, the wall shear stress steeply increases, and after passing through this corner it suddenly decreases. Consequently, it would be physiologically suggested that the large gradient of wall shear stress is closely associated with the initiation and the development of atherosclerosis.