The Erythrocyte in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

STUDIES of the microcirculation in the bulbar conjunctiva of patients with rheumatoid arthritis have shown patterns of blood flow not seen in normal persons.1 2 3 These changes are characterized by a slowing of blood flow and an aggregation of intravascular erythrocytes. It has been well established also that the serums of most patients with rheumatoid arthritis contain a factor or factors that will agglutinate particles coated with aggregated gamma globulin.4 While these observations on intravascular erythrocyte aggregation were being confirmed in this laboratory an apparent correlation was noted between the degree of intravascular aggregation and the titer of the latex-fixation test: . . .