Blood rheology

Abstract

Rheology, the science of the deformation and flow of matter, has become of considerable interest to haematologists, and now the measurement of blood and plasma viscosity is a familiar part of the investigation of vascular disorders and the paraproteinaemias. Developments in instrumentation have led to the measurement of plasma viscosity and the zeta sedimentation ratio as practical alternatives to the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and a variety of methods have also been introduced for the study of red cell deformability. It is therefore an appropriate time to review these recent developments and to examine their potential application to the investigation and management of clinical disorders.