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Science 9 May 1969:
Vol. 164. no. 3880, pp. 717 - 719
DOI: 10.1126/science.164.3880.717
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Articles

Deformation of Red Blood Cells in Capillaries

R. Skalak 1 and P I Branemark 2

1 Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics., Columinbia University, New York 10027
2 Laboratory of Experimental Biology, Department of Anatomy, University of Gotheniburg, Gothenburg, Sweden References and Notes

The shapes of red blood cells in capillary blood vessels are reinterpreted from observations of human red cells. The parachute or umbrella shape often observed is not an axisymmetric shape as formerly assumed, but is the basic biconcave disk shape of the red cell with the upstream end flattened by the pressure gradient.


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