PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - West, Geoffrey B.
AU  - Brown, James H.
AU  - Enquist, Brian J.
TI  - A General Model for the Origin of Allometric Scaling Laws in Biology
AID  - 10.1126/science.276.5309.122
DP  - 1997 Apr 04
TA  - Science
PG  - 122--126
VI  - 276
IP  - 5309
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/276/5309/122.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/276/5309/122.full
SO  - Science1997 Apr 04; 276
AB  - Allometric scaling relations, including the 3/4 power law for metabolic rates, are characteristic of all organisms and are here derived from a general model that describes how essential materials are transported through space-filling fractal networks of branching tubes. The model assumes that the energy dissipated is minimized and that the terminal tubes do not vary with body size. It provides a complete analysis of scaling relations for mammalian circulatory systems that are in agreement with data. More generally, the model predicts structural and functional properties of vertebrate cardiovascular and respiratory systems, plant vascular systems, insect tracheal tubes, and other distribution networks.