Some Observations on the Viscosity of Pathological Human Blood Plasma^[*]

Summary

Viscosities of blood plasma obtained from patients suffering from leukaemia, macroglobulinaemia, polycythaemia, spherocytosis, haemophilia and myelofibrosis has been studied by means of a rotational cone-in-cone viscometer. The data obtained is not intended to characterize the specific diseases. The aim is to show that a great range of viscosities may be found in various samples of human blood plasma and that the pathological plasma may show non-Newtonian and thixotropic flow characteristics.

It is suggested that determination of plasma viscosities, over a range of rates of shear, might contribute to our understanding of some problems of blood circulation and might be beneficial in more correct evaluation of the erythrocyte sedimentation tests.

• References

• 1 Charm S, McComis W, Tejada C, Kurland G. Effect of a fatty meal on whole blood and plasma viscosity. J. appi. Physiol. 18: 1217 1963;
• 2 Copley A. L, Scott Blair G. W, Glover F. A, Thorley R. S. Capillary flow and wall adherence of bovine blood, plasma and serum in contact with glass and fibrin surfaces. Kolloid-Ztschr. 168: 101 1960;
• 3 Dintenfass L. An application of a cone-in-cone viscometer to the study of viscosity, thixo-tropy and clotting of whole blood. Biorheology 1: 91 1963;
• 4 Dintenfass L. Viscosity and clotting of blood in venous thrombosis and coronary occlusins. Circulât. Res. 14: 1 1964;
• 5 Dintenfass L. A trolly viscometer for estimating viscosity and clotting of blood in hospital wards. Lancet 2: 567 1964;
• 6 Dintenfass L, Castaldi P. A study in viscosity and clotting of blood in haemophiliacs. Thorm-bos. Diathes. haemorrh. (Stuttg.) 11: 267 1964;
• 7 Freund A.-M, Bernardi G. Viscosity of deoxyribonucleic acid solutions in the “sub-melting” temperature range. Nature 200: 1318 1963;
• 8 Harkness J. A new instrument for the measurement of plasma-viscosity. Lancet 2: 280 1963;
• 9 Harkness J, Houston J, Whittington R. B. Plasma viscosity: a clinical test. Brit. med. J. 1: 268 1946;
• 10 Merrill E. W, Cokelet G. C, Britten A, Wells R. E. Non-Newtonian rheology of human blood - Effect of fibrinogen deduced by “substruction”. Circulât. Res. 13: 48 1963;
• 11 Robins A. B. Non-Newtonian behaviour of dilute DNA solutions. Trans. Faraday Soc. 60: 1344 1964;
• 12 Wells R. E, Merrill E. W. Shear rate dependence of the viscosity of whole blood and plasma. Science 133: 763 1961;