抄録
Circulating erythrocytes show bending deformation in microcirculation where erythrocytes' diameter is greater than microvascular luminal diameter. Erythrocyte deformability is, therefore, a prerequisite of fluent microcirculation and is determined by three factors such as erythrocytes' morphology, internal viscosity, and membrane viscoelastic property. Various hemorheological methods are available to estimate the deformability. Impaired deformability has potential impacts on microvascular disturbance which is characteristic on diabetic microangiopathy and hypertensive complications. Sensitive, quantitative and reproducible technique is required to evaluate the erythrocyte deformability for clinical science which includes potential confounding factors.
