Figure 2 | Scientific Reports

Figure 2

From: Red blood cell distribution width is associated with increased interactions of blood cells with vascular wall

Figure 2

High RDW value correlates with increased interactions between blood cells and vascular wall. Flow simulation of RBCs (volume fraction 30%) and thrombocytes in a vessel having diameter and length of 42 μm and 126 μm, respectively (top). Platelet diffusivity for different RDW and distinct values of capillary number is shown in the bottom figure. Figure was created in Matlab (The MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA). The Capillary number (Ca = g a m/G, where g is the shear rate, a is the RBC radius, m is the dynamic viscosity of the liquid and G is the shear modulus of the cell membrane) is a non-dimensional number relating viscous to surface tension forces and used here to assess different stiffness properties of the red blood cells and its effect on distribution of RBC and platelets across the vessel diameter. (A) Represents settings for Ca = 0.2, corresponding to rigid RBCs. The figure would look different for different Ca as this would affect the interaction among the blood components, as shown by (B).

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