Finite-Element Electrophysiological Modeling of Human Uterine Smooth Muscle Using a Reduced Tong Model
摘要
The uterus is a central organ in the female reproductive system, yet its electrophysiological mechanisms remain poorly understood due to its dynamic functional states and the scarcity of human data. Computational modeling has thus emerged as one of the most effective approaches to studying excitation–contraction mechanisms under constrained experimental conditions. This study presents a finite-element electrophysiological model of uterine smooth muscle cells (uSMCs) based on the Reduced Tong Model (RTM). The proposed framework more accurately captures key physiological behaviors of the uterus while reducing computational cost. Using this model, we experimentally determined that a tissue conductivity between 0.02 and 0.30 mS/cm supports physiologically realistic conduction velocities in uterine tissue. We further performed a qualitative investigation of oxytocin-induced excitability changes and proposed a potential dual role of intracellular calcium in both facilitating and suppressing the initiation of action potentials.