Two Dimensional Thermal Distribution Model in Dermal Layers of Elliptical Shaped Human Limbs Involving a Uniformly Perfused Tumor

The present paper deals with the two dimensional model of thermal distribution problem in dermal layers of elliptical shaped human limbs involving a uniformly perfused tumor. The human limbs are non homogeneous and composite in nature. The structure of the region has been taken into account by dividing the dermal region of the human limb into five layers, the outermost layer is the epidermis. Below the epidermis are the three layers of dermis followed by a layer of subdermal tissues. The innermost solid cylinder is the limb core. A uniformly perfused tumor is assumed to be present in the dermis. The surrounding tissues are assumed to be have normal physiological functions namely self controlled metabolic activity, variable blood flow and thermal conductivity. For the malignant portion the metabolic activity is taken to be continuous and uncontrolled. Appropriate boundary conditions have been framed using the physical conditions. The model is transformed into the discretized variational form and finite element approach is used to obtain the thermograms in the limbs. The results have been used to study the patterns of thermal variation in the normal and malignant regions of the limb.