Abstract
A precise and highly reproducible method for analyzing the osmotic fragility of erythrocytes with a minute amount of blood (less than 10 μl) is described. The osmotic fragility curves are recorded with a coil planet centrifuge with accessories and a scanning photodensitometer. The recorded curves are transcribed by a DuPont Curve Resolver and their components are analyzed. Normal fragility curves obtained from healthy adults revealed slightly skewed Gaussian curves and they were resolved into several typical Gaussian components which differed according to the physical and clinical conditions of subjects. Each resolved component is supposed to correspond to the population of erythrocytes having a nearly identical osmotic fragility. The method is proved to be useful for the detection of altered membrane properties of erythrocytes in various diseases.
