Blood viscosity

Question

How do I suppose understand blood viscosity and apply it to step 1?

Answer 1

With regard to blood viscosity, one important concept is hyperviscosity syndrome. You should understand the clinical relevance of this condition including potential causes, pathophysiology, and possible sequelae. On the flipside, low blood viscosity, which occurs in certain states of hemodilution (such as hypervolemia of pregnancy and different forms of anemia), can cause heart murmurs and other clinically relevant conditions.

Answer 2

Blood viscosity is most important for Step 1 because of the formula: R ∝ ηL/r4.

This formula shows that resistance (R) is directly proportional to viscosity (η) and length (L) while it is inversely proportional to radius (r) to the 4th power. This shows that even a small increase in radius will greatly decrease the resistance of the blood vessel. This is how viscosity will likely show up on Step 1.