HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 288/2/H584    most recent 00690.2004v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (12) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kim, S. Articles by Johnson, P. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kim, S. Articles by Johnson, P. C.

Aggregate formation of erythrocytes in postcapillary venules

¹Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California; and ²Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

Submitted 13 July 2004 ; accepted in final form 17 September 2004

The purpose of the present study was to obtain information on erythrocyte aggregate formation in vivo. The movements of erythrocytes in postcapillary venules of the rat spinotrapezius muscle at various flow rates were recorded with a high-speed video camera before and after infusion of dextran 500. To distinguish aggregates, the following criteria were used: 1) a fixed distance (4 µm) between the center points of two adjacent cells, 2) lack of visible separation between the adjacent cells, and 3) movement of the adjacent cells in the same direction. Without dextran 500 infusion, 11 and 5% of erythrocytes formed aggregates in low (33.2 ± 28.3 s) and high pseudoshear (144.2 ± 58.3 s) conditions, respectively, based on the above criteria. After dextran 500 infusion, 53% of erythrocytes satisfied the criteria in the low pseudoshear condition (26.5 ± 17.0 s) and 13% of erythrocytes met the criteria in the high pseudoshear condition (240.0 ± 85.9 s), indicating erythrocyte aggregation is strongly associated with shear rate. Approximately 90% of aggregate formation occurred in a short time period (0.15–0.30 s after entering the venule) in a region 15 to 30 µm from the entrance. The time delay may reflect rheological entrance conditions in the venule.

hemodynamics; in vivo blood rheology; in vivo microscopy

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Kim, R. L. Kong, A. S. Popel, M. Intaglietta, and P. C. Johnson Temporal and spatial variations of cell-free layer width in arterioles Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, September 1, 2007; 293(3): H1526 - H1535. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Kim, J. Zhen, A. S. Popel, M. Intaglietta, and P. C. Johnson Contributions of collision rate and collision efficiency to erythrocyte aggregation in postcapillary venules at low flow rates Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, September 1, 2007; 293(3): H1947 - H1954. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Kim, A. S. Popel, M. Intaglietta, and P. C. Johnson Effect of erythrocyte aggregation at normal human levels on functional capillary density in rat spinotrapezius muscle Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, March 1, 2006; 290(3): H941 - H947. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]