Affiliations: Division of Neuropathology, Medical College of Virginia, Health Sciences Division of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23219, U.S.A.
Note: [1] Work performed under DHEW grant HL-12775, and a grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation.
Note: [*] Reprint requests to Dr. Rosenblum, Division of Neuropathology, Medical College of Virginia, MCV Station Box 17, Richmond, Virginia, 23219, U.S.A.
Abstract: Rotational viscometers have become important tools for measurement of blood viscosity. The present data reveal a potential source of error in such measurements, namely an elevation in viscosity produced by shearing in the viscometer. The viscosity of mouse blood and of human blood was measured in a GDM viscometer over a range of 300–0.3 sec−1. When the same aliquot of blood was used for a subsequent series of viscosity measurements, it was found that viscosity had risen, uniformly with mouse blood, and occasionally with human blood. A lag period was present before the rise in viscosity appeared. Subsequent series of measurements then revealed further increments in viscosity values until a plateau was reached. Refrigeration prior to any shearing, prevented the shear-dependent rise in viscosity. Results are interpreted in terms of possible damage to cells in the viscometer, producing a rise in blood viscosity, or resulting in release of some constituent of the cell which would in turn elevate blood viscosity.
DOI: 10.3233/BIR-1973-10106
Journal: Biorheology, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 43-49, 1973
