Yuan-Cheng Fung 1986 Recipient of the Jean-Leonard-Marie Poiseuille Award Outstanding and Creative Work in Biomechanics and Biorheology

Yuan-Cheng Fung was awarded the Poiseuille Medal during the 6th International Congress of Biorheology. Y.C. Fung embarked on a study of rheological processes and mechanisms in many biological systems, applying his profound knowledge of mechanics, his elegant mathematical analysis and penetrating insight to the world of living matter. He studied elastic environment of the capillary bed and introduced the "tunnel-in-gel" concept; he elucidated the fundamental relationaship between geometric factors and material properties of the red blood cells; he established the basic principles governing the elasticity of the pulmonary microcirculation and introduced the "sheet flow" concept; he analyzed the dynamics of blood flow at vessel entrances and demonstrated that the interaction between the conditions of flow and the particulate nature of blood exerts profound influence on cell distribution at plasma carried between red blood cells in narrow capillaries and clarified the role of blood cell deformability in capillary flow. He provided new insights into the mechanics of contraction of heart muscle and smooth muscle in passive and active states; he studied peristaltic transport and contributed importantly to the understanding of the ureter physiology, and he established the fundamental principles governing the mechanics of the skin, lung, cardiac chambers and pericardium.