Blood Viscosity in Microvessels: Experiment and Theory

Overview

Journal C R Phys

Publisher Elsevier

Date 2014 Aug 5

PMID 25089124

Citations 42

Authors

Timothy W Secomb

Axel R Pries

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The apparent viscosity of blood flowing through narrow glass tubes decreases strongly with decreasing tube diameter over the range from about 300 m to about 10 m. This phenomenon, known as the Fåhraeus-Lindqvist effect, occurs because blood is a concentrated suspension of deformable red blood cells with a typical dimension of about 8 m. Most of the resistance to blood flow through the circulatory system resides in microvessels with diameters in this range. Apparent viscosity of blood in microvessels has been found to be significantly higher than in glass tubes with corresponding diameters. Here we review experimental observations of blood's apparent viscosity and , and progress towards a quantitative theoretical understanding of the mechanisms involved.

Citing Articles

Development of Mathematical Model for Understanding Microcirculation in Diabetic Foot Ulcers Based on Ankle-Brachial Index.

Da Silva A, de Almeida Nunes G, Faria R, Rosa M, Da Costa L, de Faria N Bioengineering (Basel). 2025; 12(2).

PMID: 40001725 PMC: 11851477. DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering12020206.

Computational Analysis of Flow and Transport Suggests Reduced Oxygen Levels Within Intracranial Aneurysms, Especially in Individuals With Sickle-Cell Disease.

Bazzi M, Wiputra H, Wood D, Barocas V J Biomech Eng. 2024; 147(2.

PMID: 39636010 PMC: 11748962. DOI: 10.1115/1.4067323.

Depth-Dependent Contributions of Various Vascular Zones to Cerebral Autoregulation and Functional Hyperemia: An In-Silico Analysis.

Esfandi H, Javidan M, Anderson R, Pashaie R bioRxiv. 2024; .

PMID: 39416222 PMC: 11482864. DOI: 10.1101/2024.10.07.616950.

Inhibiting Ca channels in Alzheimer's disease model mice relaxes pericytes, improves cerebral blood flow and reduces immune cell stalling and hypoxia.

Korte N, Barkaway A, Wells J, Freitas F, Sethi H, Andrews S Nat Neurosci. 2024; 27(11):2086-2100.

PMID: 39294491 PMC: 11537984. DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01753-w.

Validation of a Microfluidic Device Prototype for Cancer Detection and Identification: Circulating Tumor Cells Classification Based on Cell Trajectory Analysis Leveraging Cell-Based Modeling and Machine Learning.

Rejuan R, Aulisa E, Li W, Thompson T, Kumar S, canic S bioRxiv. 2024; .

PMID: 39229148 PMC: 11370430. DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.19.608572.

References

Evans E . Bending elastic modulus of red blood cell membrane derived from buckling instability in micropipet aspiration tests. Biophys J. 1983; 43(1):27-30. PMC: 1329264. DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3495(83)84319-7. View

Discher D, Mohandas N, Evans E . Molecular maps of red cell deformation: hidden elasticity and in situ connectivity. Science. 1994; 266(5187):1032-5. DOI: 10.1126/science.7973655. View

Secomb T, Hsu R, Pries A . A model for red blood cell motion in glycocalyx-lined capillaries. Am J Physiol. 1998; 274(3):H1016-22. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.1998.274.3.H1016. View

Secomb T, Hsu R, Pries A . Blood flow and red blood cell deformation in nonuniform capillaries: effects of the endothelial surface layer. Microcirculation. 2002; 9(3):189-96. DOI: 10.1038/sj.mn.7800132. View

Pries A, Ley K, Claassen M, Gaehtgens P . Red cell distribution at microvascular bifurcations. Microvasc Res. 1989; 38(1):81-101. DOI: 10.1016/0026-2862(89)90018-6. View

Vink H, Duling B . Capillary endothelial surface layer selectively reduces plasma solute distribution volume. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2000; 278(1):H285-9. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.2000.278.1.H285. View

Secomb T . Mechanics of blood flow in the microcirculation. Symp Soc Exp Biol. 1995; 49:305-21. View

Lipowsky H, Kovalcheck S, ZWEIFACH B . The distribution of blood rheological parameters in the microvasculature of cat mesentery. Circ Res. 1978; 43(5):738-49. DOI: 10.1161/01.res.43.5.738. View

Damiano E . The effect of the endothelial-cell glycocalyx on the motion of red blood cells through capillaries. Microvasc Res. 1998; 55(1):77-91. DOI: 10.1006/mvre.1997.2052. View

10.

Hsu R, Secomb T . Motion of nonaxisymmetric red blood cells in cylindrical capillaries. J Biomech Eng. 1989; 111(2):147-51. DOI: 10.1115/1.3168356. View

11.

McWhirter J, Noguchi H, Gompper G . Flow-induced clustering and alignment of vesicles and red blood cells in microcapillaries. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009; 106(15):6039-43. PMC: 2669370. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0811484106. View

12.

Secomb T . Flow-dependent rheological properties of blood in capillaries. Microvasc Res. 1987; 34(1):46-58. DOI: 10.1016/0026-2862(87)90078-1. View

13.

Wan J, Forsyth A, Stone H . Red blood cell dynamics: from cell deformation to ATP release. Integr Biol (Camb). 2011; 3(10):972-81. DOI: 10.1039/c1ib00044f. View

14.

Secomb T, Styp-Rekowska B, Pries A . Two-dimensional simulation of red blood cell deformation and lateral migration in microvessels. Ann Biomed Eng. 2007; 35(5):755-65. DOI: 10.1007/s10439-007-9275-0. View

15.

Weinbaum S, Zhang X, Han Y, Vink H, Cowin S . Mechanotransduction and flow across the endothelial glycocalyx. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003; 100(13):7988-95. PMC: 164700. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1332808100. View

16.

Fedosov D, Caswell B, Popel A, Karniadakis G . Blood flow and cell-free layer in microvessels. Microcirculation. 2010; 17(8):615-28. PMC: 3529161. DOI: 10.1111/j.1549-8719.2010.00056.x. View

17.

Gaehtgens P, Duhrssen C, Albrecht K . Motion, deformation, and interaction of blood cells and plasma during flow through narrow capillary tubes. Blood Cells. 1980; 6(4):799-817. View

18.

Secomb T, Hsu R, Pries A . Motion of red blood cells in a capillary with an endothelial surface layer: effect of flow velocity. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2001; 281(2):H629-36. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.2001.281.2.H629. View

19.

Li X, Popel A, Karniadakis G . Blood-plasma separation in Y-shaped bifurcating microfluidic channels: a dissipative particle dynamics simulation study. Phys Biol. 2012; 9(2):026010. PMC: 3419813. DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/9/2/026010. View

20.

DIETRICH H, Ellsworth M, Sprague R, Dacey Jr R . Red blood cell regulation of microvascular tone through adenosine triphosphate. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2000; 278(4):H1294-8. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.2000.278.4.H1294. View