Anesthetics and red blood cell rheology

There are many conditions where it is useful for anesthetists to have a knowledge of blood rheology. Blood rheology plays an important role in numerous clinical situations. Hemorheologic changes may significantly affect the induction and recovery times with anesthetic agents. But also, hemorheologic factors are directly or indirectly affected by many anesthetic agents or their metabolites. In this review, the blood rheology with special emphasis on its application in anesthesiology, the importance hemorheological parameters in anesthesiology and also the effect of some anesthetic substances on red blood cell rheology were presented.