ENERGY-PRESERVING MUSCLE TISSUE MODEL: FORMULATION AND COMPATIBLE DISCRETIZATIONS

In this paper, we propose a muscle tissue model valid for striated muscles, in general, and for the myocardium, in particular based on a multiscale physiological description. This model extends and refines an earlier-proposed formulation by allowing one to account for all major energy exchanges and balances, from the chemical activity coupled with oxygen supply to the production of actual mechanical work, namely, the biological function of the tissue. We thus perform a thorough analysis of the energy mechanisms prevailing at the various scales and proceed to propose a complete discretization strategy in time and space respecting the same balance laws. This will be crucial in future works to adequately model the many important physiological normal and pathological phenomena associated with these energy considerations.