Red blood cell lingering modulates hematocrit distribution in the microcirculation.

ABSTRACT: The distribution of red blood cells (RBCs) in the microcirculation determines the oxygen delivery and solute transport to tissues. This process relies on the partitioning of RBCs at successive bifurcations throughout the microvascular network, and it has been known since the last century that RBCs partition disproportionately to the fractional blood flow rate, therefore leading to heterogeneity of the hematocrit (i.e., volume fraction of RBCs in blood) in microvessels. Usually, downstream of a microvascular bifurcation, the vessel branch with a higher fraction of blood flow receives an even higher fraction of RBC flux. However, both temporal and time-average deviations from this phase-separation law have been observed in recent studies. Here, we quantify how the microscopic behavior of RBC

SUBMITTER: Rashidi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10147840 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature