In hematology, erythrocyte deformability refers to the ability of erythrocytes (red blood cells, RBCs) to change shape under a given level of applied stress without hemolysing (rupturing). This is an important property because erythrocytes must change their shape extensively under the influence of mechanical forces in fluid flow or while passing through microcirculation (see hemodynamics). The extent and geometry of this shape change can be affected by the mechanical properties of the erythrocytes, the magnitude of the applied forces, and the orientation of erythrocytes with the applied forces. Deformability is an intrinsic cellular property of erythrocytes determined by geometric and material properties of the cell membrane, although as with many measurable properties the ambient conditions may also be relevant factors in any given measurement. No other cells of mammalian organisms have deformability comparable with erythrocytes; furthermore, non-mammalian erythrocytes are not deformable to an extent comparable with mammalian erythrocytes. In human RBCs there are structural supports that aid resilience, which include the cytoskeleton: actin and spectrin that are held together by ankyrin.
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Erythrocyte deformability in the context of Red blood cell
Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (from Ancient Greek erythros 'red' and kytos 'hollow vessel', with -cyte translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate's principal means of delivering oxygen (O2) to the body tissues—via blood flow through the circulatory system. Erythrocytes take up oxygen in the lungs, or in fish the gills, and release it into tissues while squeezing through the body's capillaries.
The cytoplasm of a red blood cell is rich in hemoglobin (Hb), an iron-containing biomolecule that can bind oxygen and is responsible for the red color of the cells and the blood. Each human red blood cell contains approximately 270 million hemoglobin molecules. The cell membrane is composed of proteins and lipids, and this structure provides properties essential for physiological cell function such as deformability and stability of the blood cell while traversing the circulatory system and specifically the capillary network.
Erythrocyte deformability in the context of Hemorheology
Hemorheology, also spelled haemorheology (haemo from Greek 'αἷμα, haima 'blood'; and rheology, from Greek ῥέω rhéō, 'flow' and -λoγία, -logia 'study of'), or blood rheology, is the study of flow properties of blood and its elements of plasma and cells. Proper tissue perfusion can occur only when blood's rheological properties are within certain levels. Alterations of these properties play significant roles in disease processes. Blood viscosity is determined by plasma viscosity, hematocrit (volume fraction of red blood cell, which constitute 99.9% of the cellular elements) and mechanical properties of red blood cells. Red blood cells have unique mechanical behavior, which can be discussed under the terms erythrocyte deformability and erythrocyte aggregation. Because of that, blood behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid. As such, the viscosity of blood varies with shear rate. Blood becomes less viscous at high shear rates like those experienced with increased flow such as during exercise or in peak-systole. Therefore, blood is a shear-thinning fluid. Contrarily, blood viscosity increases when shear rate goes down with increased vessel diameters or with low flow, such as downstream from an obstruction or in diastole. Blood viscosity also increases with increases in red cell aggregability.