Suspension Stability of the Blood After Injections of Dextran

¹ From the Division of Neurology, University of Oregon Medical School, Portland, Oregon

Injections of dextran into dogs are followed by aggregation of the red blood cells and slowing of the circulation, by the formation of an amorphous film enveloping the red blood cells and by the presence in the blood of many small irregular red cells. Simultaneously, the platelet and white blood cell counts decrease in number, there is a decrease in fibrinogen in the venous blood and there are changes in the erythrocyte sedimentation rates, increases in the clotting time and an increase in blood viscosity. After a variable period these changes all return to normal.