SummaryRed blood cell (RBC) geometry is a determinant of RBC deformability, survival time, osmotic resistance, and oxygen uptake. Because accurate information on the geometry of neonatal RBC appears lacking, a micropipette technique was employed to measure surface area and volume of individual neonatal and adult RBC. In addition, RBC diameter was determined microscopically.
Abbreviation
RBC, red blood cellAccurate knowledge about the geometry of red blood cells (RBC) is important for the study of deformability, survival time, osmotic resistance, and oxygen uptake of RBC (5). The geometry of RBC is defined by measureable dimensions as the cellular volume, membrane surface area, cell diameter and thickness, and by indices calculated from measured values. These calculated indices include the surface area index (actual surface area divided by area of a sphere of same volume) and the swelling index (maximal volume which a RBC can achieve by swelling divided by actual volume).The surface area index is a measure of the excess surface area beyond that required to enclose the cellular volume. A surface area index of 1.39 [the normal value for adult RBC (13)J indicates an excess surface area of 39%. RBC need excess membrane surface area to deform and to adopt various shapes during their passage through the microcirculation. A membrane-bound sphere possesses the minimal surface area required to enclose its volume and therefore is relatively rigid because deformation can only occur via increased membrane surface area.The swelling index is a measure of the swelling capacity of RBC. A swelling index of 1.62 [the normal value for adult RBC (13)] indicates that the volume of a RBC can increase by 62% before it reaches spherical shape and then hemolyzes. The swelling index is related to the osmotic resistance which is an indirect measure of the swelling ability of RBC.Another calculated RBC geometric property is the minimum cylindrical diameter which a cell can assume in a small cylindrical channel. This parameter indicates the minimal diameter of a capillary through which a RBC can pass without a change in its volume. The minimum cylindrical diameter is an important determinant of the flow behavior of RBC in the microcirculation. The minimum cylindrical diameter is also a major determinant of the flow rate through micropore filters and the pressure required to aspirate RBC into small micropipettes (5).The volume of RBC in full-term newborn infants is about 20% higher than in adults and the diameter of neonatal RBC is increased by about 10% compared to adults (16, 18). Riegel et al.(18) computed the surface area of neonatal RBC from measured diameters of dried erythrocytes and calculated mean cell thickness using a disc model. This assumption of a disc model, however, results in an overestimation of the surface area (5). Direct measurements of the surface area and thus calculated values of the surface area index, the swelling index, and the minimum cylindrical diameter do not appear to exist for neonatal RBC.The present study w...