The blood rheology of man and various animal species.
Abstract: A comparative study has been made of the blood rheology, and its component factors, in horse, sheep, cattle, goat, camel, pig, dog, rabbit and man. The erythrocyte flexibility of horse red cells is high relative to man, that of pig, dog, camel and rabbit comparable, but less flexible, and sheep, cattle and goat relatively inflexible. The erythrocyte flexibility of horse, sheep, cattle and goats does not vary with the plasma fibrinogen level, as occurs with human and rabbit cells. Washing erythrocytes and then suspending them in isotonic saline makes the erythrocytes of all species relatively inflexible. There is a factor in horse plasma, which is not fibrinogen, that makes horse and human erythrocytes suspended in it very flexible. The blood viscosity of all species is comparable at high shear rates (230 s-1) due to the shape of the cells compensating for their flexibility. The variations of blood viscosity at low shear rates (11.5 s-1) were also found to depend on the erythrocyte flexibility, and only influenced indirectly by the fibrinogen concentration. There is no significant effect of temperature on the erythrocyte flexibility of horse, sheep, cattle, goat and a small number of human subjects. This is reflected in the way the viscosity of these bloods varies with temperature.
Publication Date: 1985-01-01 PubMed ID: 4011828DOI: 10.1113/expphysiol.1985.sp002895Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
Summary
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The research investigates the differences in blood rheology, particularly erythrocyte flexibility, between humans and several animal species. It found that varying levels of erythrocyte flexibility exist across species, with factors like plasma fibrinogen levels and temperature having differing effects.
Overview of the Study
- The study focused on comparing the blood rheology of nine different species: horse, sheep, cattle, goat, camel, pig, dog, rabbit and human. The term “blood rheology” pertains to the flow and deformation of blood in response to applied forces.
- Among these species, the variance in the flexibility of erythrocytes, also known as red blood cells, was a key focus. This flexibility is essential for blood flow, particularly in small capillaries.
Findings on Erythrocyte Flexibility
- There was a significant variation in erythrocyte flexibility. Horses had the highest flexibility compared to humans, while pig, dog, camel, and rabbit erythrocytes showed comparable flexibility albeit slightly lower. On the other hand, the erythrocytes of sheep, cattle, and goats were relatively inflexible.
- For horse, sheep, cattle and goats, the flexibility of erythrocytes did not change with alterations in plasma fibrinogen level – a difference seen in human and rabbit cells. Fibrinogen is a protein that helps in clotting blood.
Effect of Fibrinogen and Other Factors on Flexibility
- When erythrocytes were washed and then suspended in isotonic saline, they became inflexible across all species.
- Interestingly, a factor—other than fibrinogen—found in horse plasma could cause both horse and human erythrocytes suspended in it to become very flexible.
Erythrocyte Flexibility and Blood Viscosity
- The blood viscosity appeared to be comparable across the species at high shear rates due to the cell shape compensating for changes in flexibility. Here, shear rate refers to the rate at which adjacent layers of fluid move with respect to each other, usually expressed as reciprocal seconds (s-1).
- At lower shear rates, any variations in blood viscosity were primarily dependent on erythrocyte flexibility, being indirectly influenced by the fibrinogen concentration.
Temperature Effects
- Observations showed no significant effect of temperature on the erythrocyte flexibility of horse, sheep, cattle, goat, and a few human subjects. This lack of temperature effect was mirrored in the way their blood viscosity varied with temperature.
Cite This Article
APA
Amin TM, Sirs JA.
(1985).
The blood rheology of man and various animal species.
Q J Exp Physiol, 70(1), 37-49.
https://doi.org/10.1113/expphysiol.1985.sp002895 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Blood Physiological Phenomena
- Blood Viscosity
- Body Temperature
- Camelus
- Cattle
- Erythrocyte Deformability
- Erythrocytes / cytology
- Erythrocytes / ultrastructure
- Goats
- Horses / blood
- Humans
- Mathematics
- Rheology
- Sheep
Citations
This article has been cited 16 times.- Bogdanova A, Kaestner L. Editorial: Comparative biology of red blood cells.. Front Physiol 2022;13:1103647.
- Rezvani Y, Keroack CD, Elsworth B, Arriojas A, Gubbels MJ, Duraisingh MT, Zarringhalam K. Comparative single-cell transcriptional atlases of Babesia species reveal conserved and species-specific expression profiles.. PLoS Biol 2022 Sep;20(9):e3001816.
- Mantegazza A, Ungari M, Clavica F, Obrist D. Local vs. Global Blood Flow Modulation in Artificial Microvascular Networks: Effects on Red Blood Cell Distribution and Partitioning.. Front Physiol 2020;11:566273.
- Mantegazza A, Clavica F, Obrist D. In vitro investigations of red blood cell phase separation in a complex microchannel network.. Biomicrofluidics 2020 Jan;14(1):014101.
- Hu Q, Nelson TJ, Seymour RS. Bone foramen dimensions and blood flow calculation: best practices.. J Anat 2020 Feb;236(2):357-369.
- Seymour RS, Hu Q, Snelling EP. Blood flow rate and wall shear stress in seven major cephalic arteries of humans.. J Anat 2020 Mar;236(3):522-530.
- McDaniel JS, Antebi B, Pilia M, Hurtgen BJ, Belenkiy S, Necsoiu C, Cancio LC, Rathbone CR, Batchinsky AI. Quantitative Assessment of Optimal Bone Marrow Site for the Isolation of Porcine Mesenchymal Stem Cells.. Stem Cells Int 2017;2017:1836960.
- Carboni EJ, Bognet BH, Bouchillon GM, Kadilak AL, Shor LM, Ward MD, Ma AWK. Direct Tracking of Particles and Quantification of Margination in Blood Flow.. Biophys J 2016 Oct 4;111(7):1487-1495.
- Basu N, Bandyopadhyay SK. Initial data release of regular blood drip stain created by varying fall height, angle of impact and source dimension.. Data Brief 2016 Sep;8:1194-205.
- Karbowski J. Scaling of brain metabolism and blood flow in relation to capillary and neural scaling.. PLoS One 2011;6(10):e26709.
- Balakrishnan B, Dooley JF, Kopia G, Edelman ER. Intravascular drug release kinetics dictate arterial drug deposition, retention, and distribution.. J Control Release 2007 Nov 6;123(2):100-8.
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- Dawson TH. Scaling laws for capillary vessels of mammals at rest and in exercise.. Proc Biol Sci 2003 Apr 7;270(1516):755-63.
- Spengler MI, Rasia M. Influence of plasma proteins on erythrocyte aggregation in three mammalian species.. Vet Res Commun 2001 Oct;25(7):591-9.
- Wickham LL, Elsner R, White FC, Cornell LH. Blood viscosity in phocid seals: possible adaptations to diving.. J Comp Physiol B 1989;159(2):153-8.
- Sirs JA. The flow of human blood through capillary tubes.. J Physiol 1991 Oct;442:569-83.
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