The effect of lead on the fragility of the red cell incubated in vitro

Abstract

Osmotic and mechanical fragilities of the red cell were determined before and after incubation with varying amounts of lead in vitro. Lead caused a very marked increase in the resistance of the red cells to hypotonic saline solutions, although it did not increase the mechanical fragility index of the cells after incubation significantly more than in the control samples of blood which were incubated without lead.