In Vitro Studies on Erythrophagocytosis

1. Two systems for the quantitative study of erythrophagocytosis in vitro are described.

2. The effects of a number of physical factors, cations, anticoagulants, and metabolic poisons in these systems are reported.

3. Existing views on the mechanism of action of factors influencing phagocytosis are briefly reviewed. The importance of the state of energy metabolism of the phagocyte is stressed.

4. The importance of physical, chemical, and metabolic aspects of erythrophagocytic systems is emphasized in connection with the use of erythrophagocytosis as a serologic tool in immunohematology.