Biomechanics of the Gravid Human Uterus (eBook)

1 Biological Preliminaries1.1  The uterus1.2  Functional unit1.3  Electrophysiological properties1.4  Neuroendocrine modulators1.5  Coupling phenomenon1.6  Crosstalk phenomenaExercises 2 Models of the Gravid Uterus2.1  Biological changes in pregnant uterus2.2  Mechanical models of the gravid uterus2.3  Models of myoelectrical activityExercises 3 A Dynamic Model of the Fasciculus3.1              Formulation of the model3.2              Effects of change in the ionic environment on myoelectrical activity3.2.1        Physiological condition3.2.2        Changes in 3.2.3        Changes in 3.2.4        Changes in 3.3              Effects of ion channel agonists/antagonists3.3.1        T - type Ca2+ channels 3.3.2        L – type Ca2+ channels3.3.3        BKCa channels3.3.4         channels3.3.5         channelsExercises 4 General Theory of Thin Shells4.1              Basic assumptions4.2              Geometry of the surface4.3              Tensor of affine deformation4.4              Equations of continuity of deformations4.5              Equations of equilibriumExercises 5 Essentials of the Theory of Soft Shells5.1  Deformations of the shell5.2  Principal deformations5.3  Membrane forces5.4  Principal membrane forces5.5  Equations of motion in general curvilinear coordinates5.6  Remarks5.7  Nets5.8  Corollaries of the fundamental assumptionsExercises 6 Continual Model of the Myometrium6.1              Basic assumptions6.2              Model formulation6.3              Biofactor6.4              Special casesExercises 7 Models of Synaptic Transmission and Regulation7.1  System compartmentalization7.2  cAMP-dependent pathway7.3  PLC pathway7.4  Co-transmission in myometrium7.4.1       Co-transmission by acetylcholine and oxytocin7.4.2       Co-transmission by acetylcholine and adrenaline7.4.3       Co-transmission by oxytocin and adrenaline7.4.4       Co-transmission by oxytocin and prostaglandinsExercises 8 Pharmacology of Myometrial Contractility8.1              Classes of drugs8.2              Current therapies of myometrial dysfunction8.3              Model of competitive antagonist action8.4              Model of allosteric interaction8.5              Allosteric modulation of competitive agonist/antagonist action8.6              Model of PDE-4 inhibitor8.7              Myoelectrical activity                  Exercises 9 Gravid Uterus as a Soft Biological Shell9.1              Fundamental assumptions9.2              Model of the gravid uterus9.3              Numerical simulations9.3.1        Uterus close to term9.3.2        First stage of labor9.3.3        Second stage of labor9.3.4        Third stage of labor9.3.5        Constriction ring9.3.6        Uterine dystocia9.3.7        Hyper- and hypotonic uterine inertia                              Exercises 10 Biomechanics of the Gravid Uterus in Perspective10.1          Ontology of models 10.2          Applications, pitfalls and problems Exercises References Index