Haematology Flashcards
(39 cards)
What does blood contain?
RBCs, WBCs, platelets and plasma
What does plasma contain?
Water, electrolytes, glucose, lipids, metabolites, gases, hormones, drugs and plasma proteins.
What are the plasma proteins?
Albumins, globulins and fibrinogen.
What do albumins do?
— Used in transport, e.g. of fatty acids.
— Provide colloidal osmotic pressure (level too low causes water to stay in the tissues and hence swelling).
What do globulins do?
— Used in transport
— Involved in the coagulation process (clotting, precursors to hormones, defence).
What does fibrinogen do?
— Involved in clotting.
What is the blood serum?
Coagulated blood plasma.
What are the features of erythrocytes?
Discoid, large SA:vol ratio, 8micrometres, no nucleus, 35% haemoglobin, lifespan of 120 days.
What are the different types of leucocytes?
Neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes and lymphocytes.
Describe info about neutrophils.
Also called polymorphs. Stained by neutral dye. Involved in phagocytosis of microorganisms.
Describe info about eosinophils.
Stained by eosin. Associated with parasite killing and inflammation (allergic asthma).
Describe info about basophils.
Stained by basic dye. Release histamine in hypersensitivity reactions.
Describe basic info about monocytes.
Are phagocytic, the leave the blood and become macrophages in tissues- “reserve macrophages”
What is the main lymphocyte function?
They produce antibodies.
What are platelets?
Also known as thrombocytes, are non-nucleated cellular fragments involved in clot formation, haemostasis and injured tissue repair.
What is the name for blood cell production and where does it occur?
Haemopoiesis. Foetus and neonate haemopoiesis occurs in the liver and spleen. Neonate, child and adult haemopoiesis occurs in the bone marrow.
What molecules are involved in the tight regulation of platelets?
Thrombophlebitis- a polypeptide produced by the liver which gives rise to platelets when needed. Megakaryocytes are a precursor to platelets.
What molecules are involved in the tight regulation of red blood cells?
Erythropoietin (EPO)- produced in the kidney, which signals the bone marrow to produce more RBCs if needed (e.g. in certain altitudes).
How many daughter cells can 1 pluripotent stem cell give rise to and how can this cause problems?
1 million daughter cells. This can cause problems as one mutation can create tons of abnormal cells.
How is WBC production controlled?
By colony-stimulating factors (CSFs). These are peptides produced in the body in response to infection. Interleukins also play a role.
What are recombinant CSFs used for?
Improving WBC counts after anticancer drugs. However, cannot be used in the case of leukaemia due to abnormal proliferation of WBCs so would run the risk of increasing production of WBCs.
How to measure cells per volume in blood counts.
Counted by machine or manually (e.g. RBCs/neutrophils per litre of blood).
How do you measure a haematocrit (packed cell volume)?
Centrifuge blood down and the percentage this gives is the percentage that is RBCs.
How to measure haemoglobin in the blood?
Use spectroscopy, amount (g) per 1dL or 100ml (or can do per 1L) of blood. Used to identify anaemias.
