FINGER-LIKE LYSING PATTERNS OF BLOOD-CLOTS

One-dimensional modeling of fibrinolysis (Senf. 1979; Zidansek and Bli nc, 1991; Diamond and Anand, 1993) has accounted for the dissolution v elocity, but the shape of the lysing patterns can be explained only by two- or three-dimensional models. Here we report on finger-like drug- induced blood clot dissolution patterns obtained by proton nuclear mag netic resonance imaging, which can be described by the enzyme transpor t-limited system of fibrinolytic chemical equations with diffusion and perfusion terms (Zidansek and Blinc, 1991) in the reaction time appro ximation if the random character of gel porosity is taken into account . A two-dimensional calculation based on the Hele-Shaw random walk mod els (Kadanoff, 1985; Liang, 1986) leads to fractal lysing patterns as, indeed, is observed. The fractal dimension oi the experimental lysing patterns changes from 1.2 at the beginning of the experiments to a ma ximum of similar to 1.3 in the middle and then decreases toward one wh en the clot is recanalized.