May 31st – Rouleaux (singular is rouleau) are stacks or aggregations of red blood cells (RBCs) which form because of the unique discoid shape of the cells in vertebrates. The flat surface of the discoid RBCs gives them a large surface area to make contact with and stick to each other; thus forming a rouleau. …
May 30th – Basophilic stippling a.k.a. punctate basophilia refers to observing a blood smear in which erythrocytes display small dots at the periphery. These dots are the visualization of ribosomes and can often be found in the peripheral blood smear, even in some normal individuals. It is associated with several conditions, including: Myelodysplastic syndromes, Sideroblastic …
May 29th – Cabot rings appear as thin, red-violet-staining strands in the shape of rings, figure eights, or shapes of the letter B on Wright-stained smears. They are rarely seen in peripheral blood. The rings are probably microtubules from the mitotic spindle that remain behind after the rest of the erythrocyte nucleus is extruded. Cabot …
May 28th – Heinz bodies are formed by damage and denaturing to the hemoglobin component of red blood cells, most commonly by oxidative stress, but also possibly by genetic abnormalities in hemoglobin. Typically, during oxidative damage to hemoglobin, an electron is transferred from the hemoglobin to oxygen, resulting in the formation of a reactive oxygen …
May 27th – Howell-Jolly bodies are round, smooth, almost pyknotic, dark-purple bodies ranging in size from 0.5 to 1.0 micron in diameter. These RBC inclusions contain DNA. Howell-Jolly bodies are thought to be nuclear remnants or aggregates of chromosomes that have separated from the mitotic spindle and remain behind after the remainder of the RBC …
May 26th – Echinocyte comes from the Greek word meaning “sea urchin,” which relates to its shell-like appearance. Echinocytes, more commonly referred to as burr cells, are reversible, meaning that this alteration can be the result of the cell’s environment, pH of the medium (including the glass slides on which blood smears are made), the …
May 25th – Acanthocyte (from the Greek word acantha, meaning ‘thorn’), in biology and medicine, refers to a form of red blood cell that has a spiked cell membrane, due to abnormal thorny projections. A similar term is spur cells. Often they may be confused with echinocytes or schistocytes. Acanthocytes have coarse, weirdly spaced, variably …
May 24th – A schistocyte or schizocyte (from Greek schistos for “divided” or schistein for “to split”, and kytos for “hollow” or “cell”) is a fragmented part of a red blood cell. Schistocytes are typically irregularly shaped, jagged, and have two pointed ends. A true schistocyte does not have central pallor. Schistocytes are sometimes referred …
May 23rd – Sickle-cell (drepanocytosis) anaemia (SCA) is a hereditary blood disorder, characterized by RBCs that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickle cell anemia is a form of sickle-cell disease in which there is homozygosity for the mutation that causes HbS which deteriorates the cells’ flexibility and results in a risk of various life-threatening …
May 22nd – Keratocytes are erythrocytes with a blister-like vesicle, which may rupture, leaving a “bite-shaped” defect in the cell outline or one or two horn-like projections on the same side of the cell. This process may occur more than once for a given cell, resulting in very irregular shapes. Low numbers of keratocytes may …
