ABSTRACT
The membrane viscoelasticity of erythrocyte taken from both normal subjects and patients with cor pulmonale during acute exacerbation was investigated using a micropipette aspiration technique. Experimental results were analysed with vogit viscoelaticity model based on pioneering theory of Chein et al. The results showed that the erythrocyte membrane elastic moduli ((6.970 +/- 1.050) x 10(-3) dyn/cm) and viscous coefficients ((0.936 +/- 0.242) x 10(-4) dyn x s/cm) of the cor pulmonale patients was significantly higher than those of the normal subjects ((5.203 +/- 1.051) X 10(-3) dyn/cm, (0.620 +/- 0.053) x 10(-4) dyn x s/cm). The membrane elastic moduli, viscous coefficients, rigidity of erythrocyte, and viscosity were all increased. It may be the important subcellular mechanism to cause the decrease of erythrocyte deformability and hyperviscosity of blood in these patients.