RED CELL COUNTS, PERCENTAGE VOLUME, AND THE OPACITY OF SUSPENSIONS

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Abstract
Although the number of red cells and the % vol. occupied by them can be found approx. by measuring the opacity of a suspension, the fact that the opacity is a function of variables other than number and size leads to results which often are in poor agreement with the results of direct counting and of hematocrit detns. The standard error of the discrepancies between the count obtained by direct counting and that calculated from opacimetry is about [plus or minus] 500,000, and that of the discrepancies in % vol. about [plus or minus] 2.7 units of vol. A soln. of isotonic Na citrate with 0.1% formol added is preferable to isotonic NaCl as a suspension fluid for opacity measurements, principally because variations in light transmission which accompany stirring are greatly lessened. These stirring effects are apparently due to the orientation of masses of cells by currents in the suspension medium.

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