blood sampling revealed an increase in the hematocrit level by 4.3 +/- 0.4 units at peak exercise that paralleled the decrease in splenic blood volume ( r2 = -0.64 , p less than 0.001 ) , suggesting a role for the spleen in augmenting cardiovascular performance by the release of concentrated red blood cells into general circulation .
C0007226
cardiovascular
C0005775
circulation