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Norman Allan
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The flow of blood
in arteries, veins, and capillaries

 

Red Blood Cells (RBCs) clump together in coin-like stacks (or rouleaux formation) wherever space allows them to. They do this, actually, to reduce the viscosity of the blood and for the protection that the red cells receive by traveling in these train-like processions. So RBCs in the main arteries and veins travel, naturally, in these "rouleaux" stacks.

 

  

In smaller vessels the stacks break up and the RBCs flow single. This would be the case in arterioles and venules.

Oh
because these single cells
RBCs are concave
and squashed
between glass walls
the bits in the
centre
of theRBCs
are likely outside.

There may be only one exception here
  
The RBCs are 7.2 microns in diameter. Capillaries are 6 or 7 microns in diameter. A squeeze! In fact, the RBCs are sucked into the capillaries aligned perdendicular, like a plug, like a coin face-on, filling the whole tube, lieing across the tube, with their this middles sucked down the capillary like a little parachute. (I've lost my source for this, and could not find it in the University library or my files, so I'm just going to have to draw it as best I can from memory)
 see also:
714-X             
pleomorphism
ultramicroscopes

alternative
medicine
consultations
416 928 9272
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