Measurement of erythrocyte orientation in flow by spin labeling III--erythrocyte orientation and rheological conditions.

The measurements of erythrocyte orientation, obtained through a spin labeling technique, are compared with a phenomenological model. Several rheological conditions are varied: hematocrit, suspending medium viscosity, blood age, artificial reversible aggregation. We found that the onset of orientation is very sensitive to any variation of these conditions, and that its measurement would be a good method to assess erythrocyte deformability. A critical shear rate for the orientation process is then determined and compared to the corresponding parameter obtained from viscosity measurements of identical suspensions. A close qualitative relationship is found between the two sets of values of the critical shear rate.