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Effect of Altitude on the Body/Venous Hæmatocrit Ratio
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  • Letter
  • Published: 05 May 1962

Effect of Altitude on the Body/Venous Hæmatocrit Ratio

  • J. METZ1,
  • N. W. LEVIN1 &
  • D. HART1 

Nature volume 194, page 483 (1962)Cite this article

  • 335 Accesses

  • 7 Citations

  • Metrics details

Abstract

THE concentration of red cells is not the same in all parts of the circulatory system1, the cell plasma ratio being lower in the capillaries and small vessels than in the larger arteries and veins. The over-all cell percentage (body hæmatocrit) is determined from the direct measurement of both red cell volume and plasma volume, and from this the body/venous hæmatocrit ratio (BH/VH ratio) is calculated. In normal adults resident at sea-level the BH/VH ratio averages 0.91 (ref. 2).

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radioisotope Laboratory, South African Institute for Medical Research, and the Department of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

    J. METZ, N. W. LEVIN & D. HART

Authors
  1. J. METZ
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  2. N. W. LEVIN
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  3. D. HART
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METZ, J., LEVIN, N. & HART, D. Effect of Altitude on the Body/Venous Hæmatocrit Ratio. Nature 194, 483 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/194483a0

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  • Issue date: 05 May 1962

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/194483a0

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