Fig. 3.

Blood platelet biogenesis in Poiseuille flow. Shown is blood platelet biogenesis in a parabolic Poiseuille flow with maximum velocity of $v=3.33$ mm/s. (A) A proplatelet is subject to Poiseuille flow with a parabolic velocity profile far away from the cell confined between two walls. (B) Due to the action of the flow the proplatelet extends and swellings form. (C) The final platelet-sized swellings move at nonuniform distance along the proplatelet shaft. (D) The corresponding kymograph shows the dynamics of swelling formation and the motion of the final swellings. Compared to the case without external flow in Fig. 2, swellings form at earlier times. Furthermore, swellings move along the proplatelet shaft with different velocity, resulting in nonuniform distances between neighboring swellings. Two initially separated platelet-sized swellings fuse at around 20 ms.