Haematology - RBCs

Question 1

What is haematocrit?

Answer 1

Volume of RBCs (%)

Question 2

What is the function of blood plasma?

Answer 2

Carry nutrients, hormones and waste
Maintain fluidity
Maintain intravascular oncotic pressure
Helps clotting

Question 3

What are the words to describe an increase/decrease in RBCs?

Answer 3

Anaemia

Erythrocytosis

Question 4

What words desire an increase/decrease in platelets?

Answer 4

Thrombocytopenia

Thrombocytosis

Question 5

What words describe an increase/decrease in all blood cells (WBCs, RBCs and platelets)?

Answer 5

Pancytopenia

Polycytaemia

Question 6

If blood sampling takes too long, what forms? What can be used to preserve blood cell morphology?

Answer 6

Platelets clump and form clots

EDTA

Question 7

What is a haemogram?

Answer 7

Full blood count

Total Hb, haematocrit, blood count, WBCs included

Question 8

What is an erythrogram?

Answer 8

Test that evaluates red blood cells

Question 9

What 3 processes cause anaemia?

Answer 9

Inadequate erythropoiesis
Haemolysis (increased RBC destruction)
Increased blood loss

Question 10

What is blood loss anaemia? What can cause it?

Answer 10

Loss of all blood components (all cells and plasma)
Haemorrhage (internal or external)
Blood sucking parasites

Question 11

With blood loss anaemia, does HCt and TP change?

Answer 11

No - proportional loss of all blood components

Question 12

Within a few hours, what does the body do in response to blood loss anaemia?

Answer 12

Influx of water from extravascular space - diluted blood, decreased HCt and TP

Question 13

Blood loss anaemia can be acute or chronic. What compensates for acute blood loss anaemia? How long does this take?

Answer 13

Bone marrow- able to increase erythropoiesis

Lag of few days as young RBCs are in circulation, back to normal within 1-2 wks

Question 14

What can chronic blood loss anaemia lead to? What effects does this have on haematopoiesis?

Answer 14

Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA)

Iron required for erythropoiesis - decreased

Question 15

Haemolysis can be extravascular or intravascular. Which is more severe? Why?

Answer 15

Intravascular more severe

Cause release of free haemoglobin

Question 16

What cells mediate extravascular haemolysis?

Answer 16

Macrophages in liver, spleen and bone marrow

Question 17

Describe the basic degradation of haemoglobin

Answer 17

Haemoglobin
Haem 
Haemoverdin 
Haemobilirubin 
Hameosiderin

Question 18

What can cause intravascular haemolysis?

Answer 18

Complement system (immune mediated)
Oxidative damage (non-immune mediated)
Mechanical injury (non-immune mediated)

Question 19

What can free haemoglobin cause?

Answer 19

Hyperbilirubinaemia jaundice (liver overwhelmed by bilirubin)
Haemoglobinuria

Question 20

Anaemia can be mild, moderate or severe. It can also be classed on regenerative response. What are the 2 types? What cells are counted to diagnose this?

Answer 20

Regenerative - presence of polychromasia and reticulocytes

Non-regenerative - no polychromasia/reticulocytes

Question 21

What can cause regenerative and non-regenerative anaemia?

Answer 21

Regenerative - blood loss, haemolysis

Non-regenerative - iron deficiency, bone marrow disease, immune disease, chronic inflammation etc

Question 22

What is mean corpuscular volume (MCV)?

Answer 22

Average size of RBC

Question 23

Anaemia can be classed based on MCV (increased cell size). What are the names of anaemia with decreased, normal and raised MCV

Answer 23

Normal - normocytic anaemia
Reduced - microcytic anaemia
Increased - macrocytic anaemia

Question 24

Anaemia can be based on mean corpuscular Hb concentration (average RBC Hb conc). What is this called if it is normal, reduce or raised?

Answer 24

Normal - normochromic anaemia
Lowered - hypochromic anaemia
Raised = artefact!!

Question 25

What does hypochromic anaemia suggest a deficiency in?

Answer 25

Iron

Question 26

What type of regeneration/non-regneration does microcytic anaemia suggest?

Answer 26

Regenerative anaemia | Reticulocytes are larger

Question 27

What are immature RBCs with organelles and a nucleus called? What about immature RBCs without a nucleus?

Answer 27

Erythroblast - contain nucelus and organelles | Reticulocytes - large blue

Question 28

What is found in reticulocytes? (The 3 Rs)

Answer 28

RER Ribsosomes RNA

Question 29

What does polychromasia suggest?

Answer 29

Regenerative anaemia | Abnormal immature RBCs in blood - blue colour

Question 30

What are the 2 distribution abnormalities of red blood cells? What do these mean? Are they normal?

Answer 30

Agglutination - by antibodies, always pathological | Rouleaux formation - stacking on top of each other, can be normal in horse and cat

Question 31

Rouleaux formation of RBCs can be normal in horses and cats. In other species, what may it indicated?

Answer 31

Inflammation | Neoplasia

Question 32

What is the presence of abnormally shaped RBCs called?

Answer 32

Poikilocytosis

Question 33

Blood cells can undergo crenation (shrinkage to abnormal shape). What are these cells called? What do they look like?

Answer 33

Echinocytes | Short, evenly spaced points

Question 34

What may cause echinocyte present in a blood smear?

Answer 34

Artefact | Uraemia

Question 35

What are small round RBCs called? What does this strongly suggest?

Answer 35

Spherocytes | Immune mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA)

Question 36

How does IMHA cause RBCs to become spherocytes?

Answer 36

Partial phagocytosis of RBC | Loss of disc shape