Abstract
Axial drift (AD) of fresh and aldehyde-hardened erythrocytes was determined for suspensions of initial packed-cell volume (PCV), 10, 20 and 40 per cent, flowing along 25 μm capillary slits, by measuring the PCV of effluents from 5 terminal slit branches. With both fresh and aldehyde-hardened cells AD increased progressively as the slit length was increased from 0.5 to 5 mm. In general in a slit of the physiologically significant length of 0.5 mm AD had already reached half the final value attained at 10 mm. The radial cell concentration gradient developed, with progression along the slit, more rapidly near the walls than near the axis. At 10 mm, hardened cells showed much the same degree of axial drift as fresh cells of equal initial PCV but the cell concentration gradient developed more gradually with 10 per cent suspensions and more rapidly with 40 per cent suspensions of hardened cells than with corresponding suspensions of fresh cells.
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