A.M. ELHAJ*#, A.M. EL KHATIB**, K.A. MARGHANI*, A.M.. GSIEA***, M. MOUSTAFA****

 ^*Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Tripoli, Libya

^**Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Egypt

^***Department of Physics, Faculty of Education, University of Tripoli, Libya

^****Department of Medical Biophysics, Medical Research Institute (MRI), Alexandria University, Egypt

In this work, we accurately predict the influence of shear rate and radiation on blood viscosity. Blood samples of 50 albino rats were examined under different doses (0.50–6 Gy) at constant temperature 37 °C. The mechanism of interaction between radiation and blood are not very clear. The influence of X-rays on blood viscosity at different shear rates (52.8–264 s^–1) is noticed for all doses. The viscosity reduction is observed for radiation doses greater than 3.50 Gy. This could be explained by the fact that the irradiated red blood cells form chains (i.e., rouleaux) which enable the cells to move through the blood in a more streamlined fashion, thus reducing the blood viscosity. Also, the radiation may increase plasma protein concentration, which reduces the viscosity of the blood. In conclusion, the changes in blood viscosity are altered by radiation and this effect can be used as an indicator in understanding the effects of radiation during the whole-body exposure.

Key words: Blood, X-rays, viscosity, shear rates.

Corresponding author’s e-mail: ahmedlehaag@yahoo.com

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