Anemia (complete) Flashcards
What is anemia
a reduction below normal in hemoglobin or red blood cell number
What are the two components of a complete blood count (CBC)
Mean corpuscular volume (MCV)
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC)
What does the Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) measure
the size of the Red blood cell
What are the terms for a low, normal, and high MCV
low MCV = microcytic
normal MCV = Normocytic
high MCV = macrocytic
what does it mean if a RBC is macrocytic
that the RBC is abnormally large
what does it mean if a RBC is normocytic
that the RBC is the normal size
what does it mean if a RBC is microcytic
that the RBC is abnormally small
What does the Mean Corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) measure
it measures the amount of hemoglobin in the RBC
What are the terms for low, normal, and high MCHC
low MCHC = hypochromic
normal MCHC = normochromic
high MCHC = DOESN’T HAPPEN
What does it mean if a RBC is hypochromic
that the RBC has an abnormally low hemoglobin concentration
what does it mean if a RBC is normochromic
that the RBC has a normal hemoglobin concentration
What are the three different types of abnormalities that a RBC can have
- Size varation
- Hemoglobin concentration
- Shape variation
what is the term for variation in RBC shape
poikilocytosis
What are the symptoms of anemia
- pale skin/mucus membranes
- jaundice (if hemolytic)
- breathlessness
- tachycardia
- dizziness
- fatigue
What symptom of anemia is specific to hemolytic anemia
Jaundice
What are the three main causes of anemia
- Blood loss
- Excessive RBC destruction
- Insufficient RBC production
What are the two types of reasons for excessive RBC destruction
- extracorpuscular reasons
2. intracorpuscular reasons
What are the three reasons for insufficient RBC production
- too little material
- too few erythroblasts
- not enough room
What is the specific cause of anemia caused by blood loss
trauma resulting in acute blood loss
anemia caused by acute blood loss due to trauma will result in an increase of what
reticulocytes
what are reticulocytes
immature RBCs
how long does it take a reticulocyte to develop into a mature RBC after it has left the bone marrow and entered the blood
about one day
What is the normal percentage of RBCs in the blood that are reticulocytes
1%
What are the two types of signs that we will see when a patient is suffering from anemia due to excessive destruction of RBCs
signs of the excessive destruction
signs of an increase in production of RBCs (due to anemia)
What are the three signs of destruction of RBC
- increased bilirubin
- increased LDH
- reduced haptoglobin
What are the two signs of increased production of RBCs
- increased reticulocytes
2. nucleated red cells in blood
what is the life span of RBCs
120 days
Where are RBC destroyed
the liver and the spleen (NOT KIDNEYS)
What are RBCs broken down into in the spleen and liver
- Globin
2. Heme
after RBCs are broken down in the spleen and liver what is the globin used for
the globin is used in Amino Acid formation
after RBCs are broken down in the spleen and the liver what is the Heme turned into
- bilirubin
2. Iron
the Heme group of RBCs are broken down into bilirubin and iron. Where is the iron used
liver
spleen
bone marrow
the Heme group of RBCs are broken down into bilirubin and iron. What happens to the bilirubin
it is taken to the liver where it is conjugated, then secreted with the bile.
Why is bilirubin conjugated in the liver?
because unconjugated bilirubin is toxic
How does bilirubin travel in the blood
with albumin as the bilirubin-albumin complex
how is unconjugated bilirubin harmful
it damages cell membranes
what allows unconjugated bilirubin to be harmful to cell membranes
it is fat soluble
What is the enzyme that takes unconjugated bilirubin and conjugates it so that it is no longer toxic
glucoronyl transferase
What are the possible routes that bilirubin can take after it is excreted from the liver with bile
- it can be eliminated from the body with fecal matter
- it can be converted into urobilinogen and excreted in fecal matter
- it can be converted into urobilinogen and reabsorbed into the blood
- it can be converted into urobilinogen and excreted in the urine
What happens to the uronilinogen that is reabsorbed into the blood
it is taken back to the liver where it is further metabolized, and then will be secreted with bile again and eliminated in either the urine or feces
What happens if we have excess bilirubin in the body
a patient with too much bilirubin will get jaundice
what is jaundice
a condition caused by excess bilirubin
what are the symptoms of jaundice
skin, nail beds, whites of the eye take on a yellow color
What causes the excess bilirubin that leads to jaundice
- when there is too much destruction of RBCs
2. When bilirubin isn’t being secreted normally
when does excessive destruction of RBCs lead to excessive bilirubin levels
when so many RBCs are being destroyed that bilirubin levels are increasing faster than the liver is able to conjugate it
What things can cause bilirubin to not be secreted normally
- reduced hepatic uptake
- decreased ability to conjugate
- bile duct obstruction
What disorders can cause the reduced hepatic uptake that can lead to jaundice
cirrhosis and hepatitis
What disorders can cause the decreased ability of the liver to conjugate bilirubin, which leads to jaundice
cirrhosis, hepatitis, and enzyme deficiencies
what can cause the bile duct obstruction that can lead to jaundice
tumors or stones
To which types of cells is bilirubin very toxic
brain cells
What are the treatments of jaundice
- treat the causes of the condition
- blood transfusion
- Sun
what two things do you look for when you are trying to determine if a patients jaundice was caused by intrahepatic obstruction or extrahepatic obstruction
you look for the color of the urine and the feces
What is the cause of extrahepatic obstructive jaundice
obstruction of the bile duct
what is the cause of intrahepatic obstructive jaundice
damaged hepatocytes
What kind of jaundice is indicated by light or clay colored feces and dark urine
extrahepatic obstructive jaundice
how does extrahepatic obstructive jaundice lead to light feces and dark urine
the bilirubin isn’t able to be secreted with the bile and then excreted with the feces, so the feces is light. because the bilirubin can’t leave through the bile duct it goes to the kidney and leaves in the urine causing the urine to be dark
what kind of jaundice is indicated by light feces and light urine
intrahepatic obstructive jaundice
how does intrahepatic obstructive jaundice lead to light feces and light urine
because the liver can’t conjugate bilirubin, it can’t be secreted from the liver with the bile, or to the kidneys. so it just stays in the body. The lack of bilirubin in the feces and urine lead both to being light
what kind of jaundice is indicated by dark feces and dark urine
hemolytic anemia (too many RBCs being destroyed for the liver to keep up)
how does hemolytic anemia lead to dark feces and dark urine
A LOT of bilirubin is created in hemolytic anemia and the liver converts as much of it as it can and it is excreted into the urine and feces so both are dark
What are the three extracorpuscular hemolytic anemias
- Microangiopathic Hemolytic Anemia
- Warm Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
- Cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia
What are the characteristics of microangiopathic Hemolytic anemia
- extracorpuscular
- physical trauma to RBCs
- Creates Schistocytes