AJP - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 257, Issue 3 1005-H1015, Copyright © 1989 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Robin Fahraeus: evolution of his concepts in cardiovascular physiology

H. L. Goldsmith, G. R. Cokelet and P. Gaehtgens
McGill University Medical Clinic, Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, Quebec, Canada.

We give an account of the work of Robin Fahraeus over the years 1917-1938, his contribution to our understanding of blood rheology, and its relevance to circulatory physiology. Fahraeus published few original papers on this subject, yet he clearly understood the phenomena occurring in the tube flow of mammalian blood. 1) The concentration of cells in a tube less than 0.3 mm in diameter differs from that in the larger feed tube or reservoir, the Fahraeus effect. This is due to a difference in the mean velocity of cells and plasma in the smaller vessel associated with a nonuniform distribution of the cells. 2) In tubes less than 0.3 mm in diameter, the resistance to blood flow decreases with decreasing tube diameter, the Fahraeus-Lindqvist effect. We define and generalize the two effects and describe how red cell aggregation at low shear rates affects cell vessel concentration and resistance to flow. The fluid mechanical principles underlying blood cell lateral migration in tube flow and its application to Fahraeus' work are discussed. Experimental data on the Fahraeus and Fahraeus-Lindqvist effects are given for red cells, white cells, and platelets. Finally, the extension of the classical Fahraeus effect to microcirculatory beds, the Fahraeus Network effect, is described. One of the explanations for the observed, very low average capillary hematocrits is that the low values are due to a combination of the repeated phase separation of red cells and plasma at capillary bifurcations (network effect) and the single-vessel Fahraeus effect.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. W. G. E. VanTeeffelen, A. A. Constantinescu, J. Brands, J. A. E. Spaan, and H. Vink Bradykinin- and sodium nitroprusside-induced increases in capillary tube haematocrit in mouse cremaster muscle are associated with impaired glycocalyx barrier properties J. Physiol., July 1, 2008; 586(13): 3207 - 3218. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. Yalcin, P. Ulker, U. Yavuzer, H. J. Meiselman, and O. K. Baskurt Nitric oxide generation by endothelial cells exposed to shear stress in glass tubes perfused with red blood cell suspensions: role of aggregation Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, May 1, 2008; 294(5): H2098 - H2105. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. C. W. Groenendijk, K. Van der Heiden, B. P. Hierck, and R. E. Poelmann The Role of Shear Stress on ET-1, KLF2, and NOS-3 Expression in the Developing Cardiovascular System of Chicken Embryos in a Venous Ligation Model Physiology, December 1, 2007; 22(6): 380 - 389. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Chen, D. Jaron, K. A. Barbee, and D. G. Buerk The influence of radial RBC distribution, blood velocity profiles, and glycocalyx on coupled NO/O2 transport J Appl Physiol, February 1, 2006; 100(2): 482 - 492. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. Yalcin, F. Aydin, P. Ulker, M. Uyuklu, F. Gungor, J. K. Armstrong, H. J. Meiselman, and O. K. Baskurt Effects of red blood cell aggregation on myocardial hematocrit gradient using two approaches to increase aggregation Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, February 1, 2006; 290(2): H765 - H771. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. Yalcin, M. Uyuklu, J. K. Armstrong, H. J. Meiselman, and O. K. Baskurt Graded alterations of RBC aggregation influence in vivo blood flow resistance Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, December 1, 2004; 287(6): H2644 - H2650. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. K. Baskurt, O. Yalcin, S. Ozdem, J. K. Armstrong, and H. J. Meiselman Modulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression by red blood cell aggregation Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, January 1, 2004; 286(1): H222 - H229. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. G. TSAI, P. C. JOHNSON, and M. INTAGLIETTA Oxygen Gradients in the Microcirculation Physiol Rev, July 1, 2003; 83(3): 933 - 963. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. A. Constantinescu, H. Vink, and J. A. E. Spaan Elevated capillary tube hematocrit reflects degradation of endothelial cell glycocalyx by oxidized LDL Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, March 1, 2001; 280(3): H1051 - H1057. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. Dawson, G. S. Krenz, K. L. Karau, S. T. Haworth, C. C. Hanger, and J. H. Linehan Structure-function relationships in the pulmonary arterial tree J Appl Physiol, February 1, 1999; 86(2): 569 - 583. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]