The present research investigated the role of blood viscosity on flow within a microvascular network to identify the conditions of blood flow stagnation. When the yield stress of blood was less than 0.005 Pa, there were no stagnant regions in the microvasculature. However, when the yield stress increased to 0.05 Pa, stagnant or reduced flow areas began to appear, which grew and expanded rapidly with further increase in the yield stress. Thus, the yield stress determined from blood viscosity profile of a patient can be utilized to evaluate the risk of circulatory impairment.
Keywords: Herschel-Bulkley model; Yield stress; capillary network; hemostasis; microvascular flow; microvessels; wall shear stress.