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Microrheological Aspects: Their Crucial Role in Multiple Organ Failure

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Microcirculation in Circulatory Disorders

Abstract

Sequential breakdown in a number of crucial organs, such as the heart, kidneys, lungs, liver or brain, may take place over a span of seconds or many weeks. The crucial parameter in such a breakdown will be blood rheology, or more exactly, hyperviscosity of blood. Blood hyperviscosity can be due to elevation of anyone of the blood viscosity factors: elevation of plasma viscosity, elevation of packed cell volume (Haematocrit), elevation of the degree of aggregation of red cells (and especially the presence of large compact clumps of red cells), increase in the internal viscosity and rigidity of red cells, increase in the number and rigidity of the white cells, and presence of platelet aggregates. Blood hyperviscosity may be accompanied by an increase of the viscosity of whole blood, but it may be present in spite of normal or even decreased viscosity of whole blood when one of the viscosity factors is abnormally increased. The crucial role of blood hyperviscosity is especially apparent in the microcirculation. The effect of increased rigidity of blood cells or aggregates or clumps of blood cells, or the presence of microthrombi, microemboli or other products of blood coagulation is amplified by the “inversion phenomenon” in the microcapillary flow [1, 2].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Leopold Dintenfass

  2. Clinical Haemorheology Department, Rachel Forster Hospital, Redfern, NSW, 2016, Australia

    Leopold Dintenfass

Authors
  1. Leopold Dintenfass
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Cardiovascular Center of Japan, Suita, Osaka, 565, Japan

    Hisao Manabe M.D. (President) (President)

  2. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Benjamin W. Zweifach Ph.D. (Professor Emeritus of Bioengineering) (Professor Emeritus of Bioengineering)

  3. University of Heidelberg, D-6900, Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany

    Konrad Messmer M.D. (Professor of Experimental Surgery) (Professor of Experimental Surgery)

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© 1988 Springer-Verlag Tokyo

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Dintenfass, L. (1988). Microrheological Aspects: Their Crucial Role in Multiple Organ Failure. In: Manabe, H., Zweifach, B.W., Messmer, K. (eds) Microcirculation in Circulatory Disorders. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-68078-9_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-68078-9_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo

  • Print ISBN: 978-4-431-68080-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-4-431-68078-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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