clinical blood

Question 1

describe anisocytosis

Answer 1

• blood abnormality where the red blood cells are of unequal sizes
  
  • can signify anemia and thalassemia

Question 2

describe poikilocytosis

Answer 2

• poikilocytes are RBCs of distorted shape
• cause: membrane abnormalities or due to traumatic conditions

Question 3

describe iron deficinecy anemia

Answer 3

• type of microcytic anemia
• main case is lack of iron
  
  • hypochrom: pale cytoplasm
  • microcytic: small size of cells
• other types of anemia:
  
  • hemolytic: defects in cell membranes cause rupture
  • aplastic: destruction of bone marrow (radiation/toxins)

Question 4

describe pernicious anemia

Answer 4

• type of macrocytic anemia
• caused by lack of B12 absorption

Question 5

describe thalassemia

Answer 5

• hereditary hypochromic anemia resulting from decreased alpha or beta chains
• B-thalassemia indicates decreased or absent B chain
  
  • excessive alpha chains produced in compensation are unable to form tetramers
  • instead, they bind to the RBC membranes producing membrane damage and at high concentrations, toxic aggregates

Question 6

descibe hemolytic anemia-sickle cell anemia

Answer 6

• hydrophilic glutamic acid replaced by hydrophobic valine at point 6 in B-chain
• under reduced O2 saturation, erythrocytes undergo sickling
  
  • sickled cells die in 10-20 days
• bone marrow unable to produce enough erythrocytes to keep pace with loss, resulting in anemia

Question 7

describe spherocytosis

Answer 7

• caused by variety of molecular defects in the genes that code for spectrin, ankyrin, band 3 and band 4 proteins
  
  • results in a spherical shape of RBC rather than the biconcave shape