Posted by mike on May 02, 2001 at 23:19:11:
In Reply to: Re: this list is bias posted by seahunt on May 02, 2001 at 22:29:17:
let me just interrupt the entertainment (hey, it's midweek, i can't get in the water for another 79 hours, 55 minutes and 17 seconds, so what else am i going to do? stop procrastinating and actually clean my house?)
i have heard, that one possible mechanism of long term damage from red blood cell rigidity is damage to capillary walls by the stiffened RBC's. remember, capillary walls are only one cell layer thick (simple squamous epithelium, that may be continuous, discontinuous, or fenestrated) and that such capillary walls are very important in the liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, where there are extensive capillary networks that are involved with more than just simple gas exchange with a non-vital organ (spleen excepted of course..that being non-vital orgen in adults).
If these rigid RBC's damage the capilary walls, scarring may result upon healing, and if this is repeated enough times, the capillaries might become rather less efficient at gas exchange/filtration etc.
just a hypothesis in need of testing.....
ok, now back to the Huntsfields and McKanes ; )