Testing the relative proportion of blood that is composed of red blood cells is useful to diagnose red blood cell disorders. While low hematocrit levels are commonly associated with disorders such as anemia, high hematocrit levels are also dangerous. Elevations in the relative proportion of red blood cells lead to high blood viscosity, which is associated with an increased risk for clots.
Self-Assessment Questions:
Click here to test your understanding of Hematocrit.
Discussion Questions:
- How do you think hematocrit affects the viscosity of blood? Why is it important for blood to have the correct viscosity?
- The review by Bessonov et al. describes various mathematical models of blood flow. Choose two models and list pros and cons for the models. Then consider how hematocrit does or does not play a role in the models.
- Hematocrit is often measured by taking a blood sample and spinning it down in a centrifuge to separate the major components of blood. Propose a noninvasive method to measure hematocrit. List 5 design requirements (not including non-invasiveness) and 3 potential sources of error. Refer to Kishimoto et al. if you need an overview of hematrocrit metrics.
- Using the literature and/or your existing knowledge, list 4 clinical situations where a Hematocrit measurement would be appropriate.
- As mentioned in the video, polycythemia is a condition that causes an increase in the thickness (viscosity) of blood. List three specific problems this might cause in the body.
Continue Reading:
- N. Bessonov, A. Sequeira, S. Simakov, Yu. Vassilevskii, and V. Volpert, “Methods of Blood Flow Modelling,” Math. Model. Nat. Phenom., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1–25, 2016, doi: 10.1051/mmnp/201611101.
- This article explains various modeling methods for blood flow and presents applications of these methods to different systems.
- S. Kishimoto et al., “Hematocrit, hemoglobin and red blood cells are associated with vascular function and vascular structure in men,” Sci Rep, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 11467, Dec. 2020, doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-68319-1.
- This article examines how hematocrit and other metrics are related to vascular structure and function.
- Z. Khan, M. Nawaz, A. Khan, and U. Bacha, “Hemoglobin, red blood cell count, hematocrit and derived parameters for diagnosing anemia in elderly males,” Read the article here.
- This article details the use of various blood measurements, including hematocrit, in the diagnosis of anemia.
About the Creator:
This video was created by a student in the Rice Bioengineering Class of 2023 (used with permission).
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