Biomedical Engineering

Biophysics 2

Problem set

1. Answer the next questions:

a. Assume that the mass of a person is 70 kg and that 8% of the body mass is blood. If
the density of blood is 1.055 g/mL, what is the blood volume?
b. Assume that the hematocrit ratio is 0.45. What is the plasma volume in this person?
c. Assume that the average life span of the red blood cell is 120 days. What volume of
packed red blood cells is being destroyed each day? This corresponds to what
volume of whole blood? On average, what volume of whole blood is being made
each day?
2. A patient’s blood was centrifuged in a capillary tube. The total height of the column of blood
was 3.5 cm and the column of packed cells was 1.8 cm. What is the hematocrit?
3. Normal dimensions of the human heart for live persons can be determined non-invasively
using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE).
During systole, the left ventricular cavity has a diameter of about 34 mm and the wall
thickness is about 16 mm. If systolic pressure is 130 mm Hg, estimate the wall tension
assuming that the wall stress is constant, and that the ventricle is a sphere of the dimensions
given. Estimate the wall stress.
4. Answer the next questions:
a. If the left ventricle contains 120 mL at end diastole, and we assume it is a sphere,
what should its cavity radius be?
b. If the left ventricule contains 50 mL at end systole, and we assume it is a sphere,
what should its cavity radius be?
5. The red blood cell count is typically 5 x 106 mm-3 and the blood volume is 5 L, and Hct is 45%.
a. How many red blood cells are there in the total circulation?
b. If the average life span is 126 days, how many red blood cells are destroyed each
day?

Bibliography

1. Feher, J. (2012), Quantitative Human Physiology: An Introduction. Publisher: Academic

Press – Elsevier. 4.