Decreased red cell deformability and vascular obstruction in falciparum malaria illustrated by a fatal case.

The autopsy findings in a case of falciparum malaria suggested that rheological mechanisms, above all decreased deformability of red cells, might have been the main cause of capillary obstruction. This mechanism had been assumed to be involved already in 1972, and red cells containing mature parasites have recently been shown to lack deformability. This may explain why severe cases have recovered after blood exchange.