Exam 1 Flashcards
Identify
Howell Jolly bodies (Wright Geimsa stain)
Identify
Heinz bodies (NMB reticulocyte stain)
Identify
Basophilic stippling
(HINT FROM JEN - ID WON’T BE ON THIS EXAM)
Identify
Acanthocytes
(uneven spiculization)
Identify
Keratocytes
(has 2 little horns)
Identify
Schistocytes
Identify
Babeisa canis
Rouleaux
“Stack of coins”
Non-specific binding of RBC’s due to high protein content in blood and/or incr. fibrinogen
(micro)Agglutination of RBCs
- Clumping of RBCs due to specific binding of RBCs by antibodies
- Occurs w/ IMHA
- (Animal will present w/ pale MM & lethargy)
Rouleaux vs. Agglutination
(Saline test)
Rouleaux: RBCs disperse
Agglutination: RBCs stay clumped
Note similar-ish presentation before saline test
Howell Jolly Bodies
- Micronuclei
- Small # normal in cats & horses
- Removed by spleen
- Incr. w/ regenerative anemias
Heinz Bodies
- Inclusions of oxidized hemoglobin in RBCs (pushed off to the side)
- Up to 5% in normal cats
Basophilic Stippling
- Aggregates of ribosomes and polyribosomes
- Regenerative anemia (ruminants)
- Lead toxicity
Diseases Associated w/ Fragmentation Morphologies
- Iron deficiency anemia
- DIC
- Hemangiosarcoma
- Liver disease
Reticulocytes
- Precursor to erythrocytes (RBCs)
- Present in dog & cat blood in low numbers
- Cats have puntate & aggregate retics in blood
- Sometimes seen in cattle
- Extremely rare in horses
Punctate vs. Aggregate Reticulocytes
Must use New Methylene Blue Stain (or else puntate retics look like erythrocytes)
Punctate: circulate for 10 days, not helpful in figuring out whats going on now
Aggregate: circulate for 12 hours, tells what bone marrow is doing right now
Reticulocytes (indicate)
Anemia
- Low (1-10,000 cells/mircoL): nonregenerative-very poorly regenerative anemia
- Med (10,000-60,000): nonregenerative-poorly regenerative anemia
- High (60,000-200,000): mild-mod regenerative anemia
- Super high (200,000-500,000): very regenerative response to anemia
Platelet Count in Cats
DON’T TRUST IT
Platelet clumping is very common in cat blood
Need to look at stained slide
What’s going on in each of these samples?
*normal plasma is “straw colored”
Elevated MCHC (mean corpuscular hemoglobin count)
Artifact - no such thing as hyperchromic anemia
(may be caused by lipemic sample, Heinz bodies, intravascular hemolysis, agglutinated RBC’s)
Average PCV - Dog
45%
Average PCV - Cat
37%
Regenerative Anemia (blood morphology)
- Polychromasia (retics present)
- Likely hypochromic, macrocytic
Anisocytosis
varying RBC sizes
(normal in bovine blood)