Fetal erythroid cell development: Density gradients and size distributions

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Abstract
Electronic size distributions of erythroid cells from fetal C57BL‐6J mice during the eleventh through twentieth days of gestation indicate that the erythropoietic cell populations are constantly changing. The mean volume of the liver derived non‐nucleated erythroid population decreases from four times the mean adult erythrocyte volume on the thirteenth gestation day to twice the adult erythrocyte volume at birth. The mean volume of the nucleated erythroid cell is about ten times the mean adult erythrocyte volume. The gestation age of an embryo can be determined from blood cell size distributions. The mode of the non‐nucleated population and the percentage of each population indicates the gestation age.Size distribution of cells in density gradient fractions apparently indicate two size populations of non‐nucleated cells between the thirteenth and fifteenth days. The density of the non‐nucleated cells increases during gestation. It is suggested that the decrease in size and increase in density of non‐nucleated cells is due to the release of successively smaller reticulocytes from the liver.