Effects of cigarette smoking on morphology and aggregation of erythrocytes.

Erythrocyte deformability and aggregation are important parameters related to blood flow in cardiovascular system. These are generally determined by various techniques. The present work is an attempt to implement a computerized procedure based on microscopic images of erythrocytes, obtained from cigarette smokers, to calculate these and related parameters. The subjects who have been smoking for more than ten years (Group 2) are selected and the calculated parameters are compared with that of non-smoking subjects (Group 1). The shape parameters area, perimeter and form factor of erythrocytes show significant change in Group 2 compared to that of Group 1. The erythrocyte aggregation, as measured by area occupied by aggregates, shows significant reduction in smokers, attributed to enhanced cell-cell interaction in Group 2. The ratio of crenated to normal erythrocytes increases immediately after smoking but reverts back to initial level after a gap of more than one hour, which is attributed to the change in metabolic activity of erythrocytes.