Mechanisms of mesothelial tissue lubrication

In the pleural space, sliding between the lung and chest wall induces shear stress that could damage the delicate mesothelial cells covering the tissue surfaces. Normally, the pleural space, which is filled with fluid, is able to sustain continuous shear loading throughout its lifetime. To understand the mechanisms in preventing frictional damage on mesothelial tissue, we conducted experiments using abdominal tissue excised from a rat. We allowed the tissue to slide against a glass surface, and measured the fluid thickness and shear force between them. We also studied independent variables such as location on the tissue, applied normal load, sliding velocity and direction to determine their effects on mesothelial tissue lubrication. Both thickening and thinning of the fluid layer were observed during sliding. The fluid thickness was found to change with sliding velocity and direction, but invariant with location on tissue surface. In tribological experiments, shear force decreased with increasing velocity until it reached a minimum value varying with different tissue samples. Normal load had a strong effect on shear force, but not on friction coefficient.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Lin, Judy Li-Wen

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Stephen H. Loring and Nam P. Suh.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/36249

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/36249