The course of blood plasma through the vessels complies with the laws of hydrodynamics. It has a laminar, telescopic character, whereby the peripheral, cylindrical plasma layer flows at a slower rate than the inner layers. The velocity of plasma layers increases parabolically from the periphery toward the axial zone, The erythrocytes caught between layers flowing at different rates turn so as to achieve the most streamline formation, i. e., so as to afford minimum resistance to forward movement. Consequently, erythrocytes roll on their narrow edge in the bloodstream, conforming to the laws of hydrodynamics. An erythrocyte caught between layers flowing at different rates assumes a radial position, and acquires a rotary motion around its own axis; it rolls within the vessel like a wheel. The number of erythrocytic revolutions was calculated for certain vessels. In normal concentrations the radially arranged rolling erythro cytes draw near one another with their concave sides, forming a ring, similar to a vortex, which obeys the law of a gyroscope (Figure 1).
The lumen of a medium blood vessel is filled with such vortical erythro cyte rings, whose fragments are known outside the body as rouleaux.
The forward speed of these rings along the vessel is not uniform, but increases from the periphery toward the axial zone of the vessel. The erythrocytes moving near the vascular axis pass through the body more frequently than those rolling along the periphery of the vessel.
It was established, first theoretically and later experimentally, that the erythrocytes advancing at high speed have the smallest diameter. Hydro dynamic factors also affect the distribution of erythrocytes, according to size, in the lumen of blood vessels. The oldest and at the same time the largest erythrocytes rolling along the periphery are readily taken up and destroyed at the end of their "active life" by the reticuloendothelial cells lining the vessels. This mechanism must function continuously, because every second, millions of erythrocytes enter the bloodstream, while millions of others are withdrawn.
The radial-annular systems partially disintegrate where the blood vessels branch, but, as demonstrated by calculations and experiments, they are soon restored by hydrodynamic, electrical, and magnetic factors.
Thus, the dynamic organization of blood constantly tends to reestablish its spatial pattern.
It appears that the strict time-spatial subordination of the morphology of the flowing corpuscles is intimately linked with the biochemical functions of the blood, and the complex metabolic processes. This subordination determines the steady work of the "donor" and "receptor" system of meta bolites, and is under continuous control and regulation by the nervous system. The most important tissue of the organism— the blood— far from being a "confusedly running" "chaotic crowd" of corpuscles is strictly regulated in both structure and biochemical functions.
Chizhevskii experimentally substantiated his theory and his mathematical calculations by pumping blood under pressure through thin-walled glass capillaries of various diameters (at different rates of flow and with different concentrations of erythrocytes). He was the first to observe under the microscope the amazing pattern of the spatial-dynamic pheno mena in flowing human blood: orientation of the erythrocytes in the plasma flow, their rotation around the axis, the interaction between individual erythrocytes, formation and rotation of the erythrocytic rings, the tele scopic movement of the rings, the hydroscopic effect of erythrocytes, and other most interesting phenomena. The experimental technique made
possible the visual counting of the erythrocytic revolutions around their axes per unit time in relation to the rate of plasma flow, thus confirming the theoretical calculations. The leukocytes roll along the walls of the vessel, at the periphery of the bloodstream, always ready to defend the body. These phenomena were studied in both normal and pathological blood, The clinical laboratories continue to examine "dead" blood in drops or smears. Chizhevskii laid the foundation for the structural analysis of blood in its dynamics, and demonstrated that flowing blood displays remarkable new properties which require further, thorough studies. He designated this branch of science dynamic hematology .
A system of electric charges covers the erythrocyte's surface. Experi ments have demonstrated that inhalation of negative air ions stabilizes the erythrocytic system, while inhalation of positive air ions unloads the erythrocytes and accelerates their sedimentation (as proved by ESR tests). In the course of the rotation of erythrocytes, their electric charges gene rate convection currents, i. e., each rotating erythrocyte must be con sidered a magnet. Calculations revealed the remarkable fact that the electric, magnetic, and hydrodynamic forces acting in blood are of the same order of magnitude. Therefore the radial-annular erythrocytic structures should be regarded as a strictly regulated elastic system occurring in dynamic equilibrium and maintained throughout the pulse wave.
The erythrocytes repel one another as a result of their identical electric charge. This repulsion is promoted by the vortices formed between the erythrocytes in the course of their rotation. Consequently, the erythro cytes are prevented from sticking together, thereby impeding formation of thrombi which might plug the blood vessel and endanger the organism.
The magnetic fields between the erythrocytes are symmetrically arranged and stable in the radial-annular structures. The erythrocytic rotation around their own axis and the above-mentioned vortices assist in main taining the required rate of metabolism.
The discovery of the dynamic structure of the blood represents the second major stage in the physiology of blood circulation, after that of the circulation itself. It took more than 300 years of scientific development to discover the amazing spatial structure of the blood flowing through the vessels.
The discovery of blood circulation opened a new era in biology and medicine. The discovery of the dynamic microstructure of blood also bears tremendous consequences for the biological and medical sciences. Pathological processes are reflected in the "body's mirror"— the blood— distorting its physicochemical functions and changing its geometrical structure. Study of the blood by means of special techniques may lead directly to more accurate diagnoses and may possibly even break new roads toward appropriate therapy.
Chizhevskii's monograph is permeated with mathematical analysis, and its details are only within the reach of biophysicists and biologists who are acquainted with higher mathematics.
In conclusion, we must express our wish that Chizhevskii's discovery be further studied and implemented in the USSR.