Characterizing flow distributions in AV fistulae for haemodialysis access.

The arteriovenous fistula is the most widely used means of enabling vascular access for chronic haemodialysis. When interest in vascular access was at its height, in the 1970s, a substantial amount of work was carried out on the physiology of arteriovenous fistulae and on the relationship between fistula flow and patency. One omission in the catalogue of studies was research into the distribution of flow in the fistula and the effects on surgical outcome.