Platelet transport and adhesion in shear blood flow: the role of erythrocytes

Hemostatic system serves the organism for urgent repairs of damaged blood vessel walls. Its main components — platelets, the smallest blood cells, — are constantly contained in blood and quickly adhere to the site of injury. Platelet migration across blood flow and their hit with the wall are governed by blood flow conditions and, in particular, by the physical presence of other blood cells — erythrocytes. In this review we consider the main regularities of this influence, available mathematical models of platelet migration across blood flow and adhesion based on "convection-diffusion" PDEs, and discuss recent advances in this field. Understanding of the mechanisms of these processes is necessary for building of adequate mathematical models of hemostatic system functioning in blood flow in normal and pathological conditions.