PMID- 2760283
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 19890918
LR  - 20191029
IS  - 0174-1578 (Print)
IS  - 0174-1578 (Linking)
VI  - 159
IP  - 2
DP  - 1989
TI  - Blood viscosity in phocid seals: possible adaptations to diving.
PG  - 153-8
AB  - 1. Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration 
      (MCHC) of phocid seal red blood cells (RBC) are elevated compared to those of 
      most terrestrial mammalian species. The influence of these characteristics on 
      blood flow was revealed by viscosity (VIS) measurements. 2. RBC morphology and 
      VIS of whole blood from 7 harbor seals and 5 northern elephant seals were 
      compared with blood of the domestic pig. Samples were analysed for RBC count, 
      white blood cell (WBC) count, total plasma proteins, hematocrit (HCT), MCV and 
      MCHC. Viscosity measurements were made at shear rates from 11.5 to 230.4 s-1 on a 
      Wells-Brookfield cone-plate viscometer at 37 degrees C. 3. Mean values for HCT 
      (%), MCV (micron 3) and MCHC (%) were, respectively: elephant seal: 57, 176, 44; 
      harbour seal: 53, 105, 38; domestic pig: 28, 54, 34. Pig blood was reconstituted 
      to match seal blood HCTs. VIS determinations showed that seal and pig blood 
      conform to the general mammalian dependence of VIS upon shear rate and HCT. 4. 
      Seal blood VIS was 28% (harbour seal) and 16% (elephant seal) less than pig blood 
      VIS at low shear (P less than 0.05). Seal blood carried more hemoglobin per unit 
      volume than did pig blood reconstituted to the same HCT. Fewer, larger RBC with 
      higher MCHC, and hence elevated oxygen storage, accompanied by reduced VIS and 
      reduced flow resistance near stasis suggests that this feature of phocid seal 
      blood is an adaptation to circulatory redistribution during long dives.
FAU - Wickham, L L
AU  - Wickham LL
AD  - Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks 99775.
FAU - Elsner, R
AU  - Elsner R
FAU - White, F C
AU  - White FC
FAU - Cornell, L H
AU  - Cornell LH
LA  - eng
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - Germany
TA  - J Comp Physiol B
JT  - Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental 
      physiology
JID - 8413200
SB  - IM
MH  - Adaptation, Physiological
MH  - Animals
MH  - *Blood Viscosity
MH  - Caniformia/*blood
MH  - *Diving
MH  - Erythrocyte Indices
MH  - Hematocrit
MH  - Seals, Earless/*blood
MH  - Species Specificity
MH  - Swine/blood
EDAT- 1989/01/01 00:00
MHDA- 1989/01/01 00:01
CRDT- 1989/01/01 00:00
PHST- 1989/01/01 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 1989/01/01 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 1989/01/01 00:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1007/BF00691735 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Comp Physiol B. 1989;159(2):153-8. doi: 10.1007/BF00691735.