Affiliations: [a] Hemorheology Research Laboratory, Clinic for Physical Medicine, University of Munich, Ziemssenstr. 1. 8000 München 2, FRG | [b] Institute of Medical and Dental Bioengineering, Royal Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, and Department of Haemetology, King’s College Hospital, London, U.K.
Note: [] Accepted by: Editor T. DiPerri
Abstract: Red cell concentration is the main determinant of bulk blood viscosity. the evaluation of other determinants of blood rheology may require elimination of differences due to hematocrit alone. A simple and efficient procedure is described for calculating blood viscosity at a standard hematocrit, based on plasma viscosity, native sample hematocrit and whole blood viscosity at native hematocrit. The method considers individual variations of the viscosity – hematocrit relationship, as well as its dependence on shear rate.
