Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Biophysical Models of the
Cardiovascular System
Cardiac electrophysiology is a field with an extensive history of
integrative modeling that is closely coupled with both the design and
interpretation of experiments. The first models of the cardiac action
potential (AP) were developed shortly after the Hodgkin-Huxley
model of the squid AP, and were formulated in order to explain the
experimental observation that, unlike the neuronal AP, cardiac APs
exhibit a long duration plateau phase. It was not long after the formu-
lation of these early myocyte models that initial models of electrical
conduction in cardiac tissue were formulated and applied to yield clin-
ically useful insights into mechanisms of arrhythmia. This close interplay
between experiment and integrative modeling continues today, with
new model components and applications being developed in close
coordination with the emergence of new subcellular, cellular, and
whole-heart data describing cardiac function in health and disease.
This chapter reviews the current state of integrative modeling of
the heart, focusing on three topics: (a) review of the anatomical and
biophysical properties of cardiac muscle cells and how key processes
may be modeled; (b) use of diffusion tensor magnetic resonance
imaging for rapid acquisition of geometric and microanatomic data
on cardiac ventricular structure at high spatial resolution; and (c) the
integration of cellular models with this imaging to formulate com-
putational models of cardiac ventricular electrical conduction. These
approaches will facilitate a new interplay between experiment and
modeling of electrical conduction in the heart, thus contributing to
our understanding of the systems biology of the heart in both health
and disease.
STRUCTURE AND BIOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES
OF THE CARDIAC MYOCYTE
There are a diversity of cell types within the heart. This includes
both cardiac myocytes as well as smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts,
neurons, and endothelial cells. Distinct types of cardiac mycoytes
include those of the sinoatrial node, atrium, atrioventricular node, the
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