Impact of Red Blood Cell Rigidity on in vivo Flow Dynamics and Lingering in Bifurcations
Yazdan Rashidi·Alexis Darras·Felix Maurer·Ashley M. Toye·Selina Wrublewsky·Matthias W. Laschke·Khadija Larhrissi·Christian Wagner·Frances B. Gidley·Thomas John·Lars Kaestner
Bifurcations are a crucial part of the mammalian microvasculature, as they establish the interface between blood and tissue. The flexibility of red blood cells (RBCs), the main cellular constituent of blood, is believed to strongly impact their partitioning, quantitative in vivo measurements have so far been elusive. This study investigates the effect of cell rigidity on the lateral movement after arteriole bifurcations, and lingering by comparing the movement of artificially rigidified RBCs wit