A mathematical model for the transport of PAH analogues in the kidney (Q1057763)

This mathematical model has been developed in view of better understanding of the transport of PAH (p-aminohippurate) analogues in kidney, an important diagnostic test concerning renal structures. This transport includes the active transport of solutes across basolateral membranes. The paper opens with a schematic description of water and tracer transport in the kidney. In the model the cortical region is represented by a system of tubes imbedded in a bath, which models the cortical interstitium. As usually it is necessary to accept a number of simplifying assumptions. The one concerning the active transport states that the flux of a solute is proportional to its concentration in the bath and thus it is independent of the concentration of a solute inside the cell. It is important to note that the whole process is thought as one-dimensional but unsteady. Therefore the resulting system of equations consist of partial differential equations. This system is solved using the finite difference method. Results are presented graphically and compared with results following from Horgan's model [\textit{Horgan} et al., Internat. J. Appl. Radiat. Isot. 18, 797 ff. (1967)].