Tube viscometry of dense red cells suspensions in plasma at very low flow rates

Eighty-seven per cent fresh red cells suspended in fresh homologous (heparinized) plasma exhibited decreasing viscosity with continued shear at flow rates of 0.02–0.2 tube diameters per second in a horizontal glass capillary 0.55 mm wide. There was some correlation with cigarette smoking. There also appeared to be a tentative connection between flow properties and early cancer.