Introduction

Whole blood viscosity, which is a major determinant of hemorheology, is associated with cardiovascular, endocrinal, and cerebral nervous disease. Acquiring an accurate blood viscosity measurement has been a major issue in hemorheology, and a new type of scanning capillary tube viscometer proposes solution with continuous measurement of viscosity over a whole range of shear rates.

Objectives

The objective of this study is to evaluate the normal range of whole blood viscosity and the correlation between whole blood viscosity and hematological data.

Methods

The blood samples were collected from beagle dogs (n = 20). Whole blood viscosity measured within 4 hours after collection using scanning capillary tube viscometer. Scanning capillary tube viscometer which is capable of measuring yield stress and viscosity of whole blood continuously over a wide range of shear rates from 1s^-1 to 1000s^-1 is a new type of capillary tube viscometer and calculates viscosity using Casson fluid model.

Results

Mean systolic and diastolic blood viscosities of beagle dogs were 4.18 ± 0.53 and 28.46 ± 6.30, respectively. RBC, HGB, HCT had a statistical significant correlation with systolic and diastolic blood viscosity in CBC while ALP and AMY in serum chemistry (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The results suggest that correlation between whole blood viscosity and regular blood tests such as CBC and serum chemistry in beagle dogs can be used as reference data for further investigation.

Acknowledgement

This study was carried out with support of Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development, Rural Development Administration, and BK 21 Plus Program, Republic of Korea.