Single scattering by red blood cells.

A highly diluted suspension of red blood cells (hematocrit 0.01) was illuminated with an Ar or a dye laser in the wavelength range of 458-660 nm. The extinction and the angle-resolved intensity of scattered light were measured and compared with the predictions of Mie theory, the Rayleigh-Gans approximation, and the anomalous diffraction approximation. Furthermore, empirical phase functions were fitted to the measurements. The measurements were in satisfactory agreement with the predictions of Mie theory. However, better agreement was found with the anomalous diffraction model. In the Rayleigh-Gans approximation, only small-angle scattering is described appropriately. The scattering phase function of erythrocytes may be represented by the Gegenbauer kernel phase function.