Lighthill and his art of mathematical modelling

Lighthill modeled the flow of blood through a narrow capillary involving the passage of individual red blood cells through it in a single file. The study involved the motion of relatively tightly fitting pellets of solid matter forced along distensible tubes. The equations governing the motion and suitable boundary conditions are formulated. The mathematical highlight of Lighthill’s model is the use of the method of matched asymptotic expansion in six layers.