Modeling oxygen concentration in skeletal muscle

A new approach to modeling oxygen transport in skeletal muscle is presented that has the potential to include the interactions of a large number of capillaries. Oxygen concentration in tissue does not differ significantly from that in nearby capillaries, but the concentration in a capillary can be found only through a consideration of the interaction with other capillaries and the surrounding tissue. We therefore begin with an analysis of the oxygen concentration in the tissue surrounding a single capillary. By matching the concentration in adjacent tissue regions, we determine the interaction among capillaries. From this, two universal constants emerge that permit the capillary concentrations to be determined rather easily, without further consideration of the complex solution obtained for the tissue.