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Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate: A Physics-Driven Characterization in a Medical Context
Published on: March 24, 2023
Estimation of erythrocyte population state by the spherical index distribution
O I Gordiyenko1, Yu E Gordiyenko, V O Makedonska
1Department of Low Temperature Preservation, Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine of the National Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine, 23 Pereyaslivska str., Kharkiv 61015, Ukraine. cryo@online.kharkov.ua
Abstract:
The densities of cell distributions by spherical index (SI) in erythrocyte populations from healthy adults and donors with endocrine pathologies were determined via the developed method. The investigation shows that this characteristic varies for different donors, thereby reflecting the erythrocyte population state of an individual donor. Individual distribution curves obtained from healthy donors are close to Gaussian and are characterized by smooth curve plot with one maximum. Cells distribution by SI in donors with endocrine pathologies has a polymodal character. Our research shows that the developed method for determining erythrocyte distribution density by SI is a sensitive and informative test for quantitative evaluation of an erythrocyte population state. Moreover, this characteristic has clear physical and physiological significance, because an erythrocyte shape is strongly conditioned by the cell age and influences the ability to pass through microcapillaries in blood circulation.
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