Blood volume in inbred strain BALB/c, CBA/J and C57BL/10 mice determined by means of 59Fe-labelled red cells and 59Fe bound to transferrin.

Circulating red blood cell (RBC) and plasma volume was determined in male inbred strain BALB/c, CBA/J and C57BL/10 mice by parallel use of the 59Fe-labelled RBC dilution and the dilution of 59Fe bound to transferrin. The whole blood volumes values derived from the venous haematocrit and plasma volume were about double the values calculated from the venous haematocrit and circulating RBC volume. Comparison of the two methods thus explains the marked differences in different studies of blood volume in mice and shows that correct values can be obtained only by parallel measurements of RBC and plasma volume by separate methods, or by correcting the venous haematocrit to whole body haematocrit. Combination of the labelled RBC method and the 59Fe-transferrin method showed the blood volume values in the above strains of mice to be 10.35 +/- 0.16, 7.32 +/- 0.10 and 7.94 +/- 0.15 ml/g b.w. respectively. The ratio of whole body to venous haematocrit in these strains was was 57.3 +/- 1.6%, 68.0 +/- 1.8% and 69.5 +/- 2.2%. Significant interstrain differences were demonstrated in RBC, plasma and blood volume and in the venous and whole body haematocrit and their ratio.