Abstract
The technique of television microscopy has been applied to study human nailfold capillary blood flow in a variety of conditions that result in changes in blood rheological behaviour. The most striking changes were observed in leukaemia: in the presence of high total leucocyte counts stationary capillaries were frequently observed. A highly significant improvement in capillary flow velocity followed cytoreduction therapy. In contrast capillary flow velocity was normal at rest in patients with polycythaemia and was not altered following isovolaemic haemodilution. In patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinaemia capillary flow tended to be lower than age matched control subjects but few stationary capillaries were observed. Plasmapheresis in two subjects resulted in an improvement in capillary flow. These results emphasize the need to take into account the autoregulatory capacity of the microvasculature when extrapolating from the viscometer to the in vivo state.
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