We conducted a numerical study to determine the influence of pulsatile laminar flow and heating protocol on temperature distribution in a single blood vessel and tumor tissue receiving hyperthermia treatment. We utilized both a physiological resting waveform. at time-averaged Reynolds number of 50 and 300 and a simisoidal waveform in this investigation. The arterial wall was modeled using the volume-averaged porous media equations. Discretization of the transport equations was achieved using a finite element scheme based on the Galerkin method of weighted residuals. We validated our numerical model by comparing it with previously published results in literature. Our results indicate that the choice of waveform significantly influences the findings concerning temperature distribution and heat transfer rate during hyperthermia treatment. A comprehensive analysis of the influence of blood velocity pulsations and blood vessel size on temperature uniformity of tissues undergoing hyperthermia treatment is presented in detail. The results of the present investigation illustrate that large vessels have a profound effect on the heat transfer characteristics in tissues receiving hyperthermia treatment. The results of this work may enhance current understanding of the factors that determine the effect of hyperthermia treatment on tumor tissues. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.