Red blood cells have unique mechanical behavior, which can be discussed under the terms erythrocyte deformability and erythrocyte aggregation. … Blood becomes less viscous at high shear rates like those experienced with increased flow such as during exercise or in peak-systole. Therefore, blood is a shear-thinning fluid.

Is blood shear thinning?

For instance, shear rate in the femoral artery has been reported to increase from 60 s–1 at rest to 200–250 s–1 during exercise (Gonzales et al., 2009). Blood is a shear-thinning fluid, meaning that its viscosity decreases when shear rate increases.

What is the meaning of shear thinning?

In rheology, shear thinning is the non-Newtonian behavior of fluids whose viscosity decreases under shear strain. It is sometimes considered synonymous for pseudoplastic behaviour, and is usually defined as excluding time-dependent effects, such as thixotropy.

Why is blood considered a Newtonian fluid?

That's because blood isn't a liquid like water is. The fluids you are most familiar with flow like water does–they don't change the way they move based on how they are moving, or what is moving through them. These are the generalized Newtonian fluids whose ability to resist deformation, their viscosity, is constant.

What is blood shearing?

In the vasculature, shear stress is defined as the tangential force of blood flow that acts on the endothelium.

Is blood Newtonian fluid?

While the plasma is essentially a Newtonian fluid, the blood as a whole behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid showing all signs of non- Newtonian rheology which includes deformation rate dependency, viscoelasticity, yield stress and thixotropy.

How does blood volume affect blood pressure?

How Blood Volume Affects Blood Pressure. Changes in blood volume affect arterial pressure by changing cardiac output. An increase in blood volume increases central venous pressure. This increases right atrial pressure, right ventricular end-diastolic pressure and volume.

Is blood shear thickening or thinning?

Because of that, blood behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid. As such, the viscosity of blood varies with shear rate. Blood becomes less viscous at high shear rates like those experienced with increased flow such as during exercise or in peak-systole. Therefore, blood is a shear-thinning fluid.