An analytical model of gas transport in the human lung

Summary A simple physico-mathematical model of gas transport in the human lung is developed. Care is taken to obtain an analytical concordance with the bronchial-tree geometry as given by the Weibel’s morphometric data. The dynamics of diffusion is modelled according to the Taylor and Aris model. The simplest boundary conditions are assumed. An approximate analytical solution is derived with applications to some simple breathing washout experiments. A satisfactory agreement confirms the validity of the model. This work was partially supported by Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione.