The resistance to transport in porous media increases because the viscosity of the fluid (which fills the pores) increases in the vicinity of the pore walls (Renkin effect; see also electroviscous effects). This effect is important in very narrow pores and in pore narrowing their diameter to the same size as the diameter of the diffusing particles. Constrictivity must be distinguished from the effects of Knudsen diffusion. Knudsen diffusion occurs when the particle interacts with the pore walls more than it does with other particles due to the large free path and narrow pores. Constrictivity, on the other hand, depends on the influence of the pore walls on the fluid filling the pores.