The Right Heart

Below is the subsystem that solves the equations for the right heart.

Figure 1. Simulink block diagram of the right heart.

Physiological notes:

• PHYSBE's basic right heart model favors the right ventricle, largely ignoring the lesser flow effects in the right atrium.
• The tricuspid and pulmonary valves stop flow to and from the right ventricle, respectively, when the pressure difference across the valve becomes negative (i.e. they are unidirectional valves that prevent backflow).
• Blood temperature is assumed to remain unchanged in the heart, as shown by the unit gain on the temperature vector at the bottom of the block diagram.

Simulation notes:

• The new Simulink integrator yields better accuracy at the tricuspid and pulmonary valves, which are non-linear.
• The Goto and From blocks F1i and P2i are connections to other circulatory systems where the information flow is opposite of blood flow. Using the Goto and From blocks for these connections allows the connections to be made "below the surface", thereby keeping the main block diagram (physbe) uncluttered and less confusing.
• The Goto blocks, P3i, V3, and P3, and From block, RHeart, allow key output and input information to be passed directly to the Analysis Subsystem, where it can be managed in one central location.
• The line labels are used to keep track of variable information, making the flow of information easier to track.

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