Haematology (12 minute medicine)

Question 1

what breeds have a naturally high red cell mass?

Answer 1

sighthounds, greyhounds

Question 2

how does red cell mass change with age?

Answer 2

puppies often have lower RBC counts

Question 3

once anaemia has been diagnosed, what should the next step be?

Answer 3

determine if it is regenerative or not

Question 4

what part of haematology report is looked at to determine if anaemia is regenerative?

Answer 4

erythrocyte indexes (MCV and MCHC)

Question 5

what values of MCV and MCHC would make you suspect a regenerative anaemia?

Answer 5

increased MCV
decreased MCHC
(young erythrocytes are larger with less haemoglobin)

Question 6

what type of anaemia would be expected with a low MCV and low MCHC?

Answer 6

iron deficiency anaemia

Question 7

what is the difference between a haematocrit and PCV?

Answer 7

haematocrit uses red cell count
PCV uses the proportion of the sample that are RBCs

Question 8

what blood tube is used for haematology?

Answer 8

EDTA - preserves cell morphology

Question 9

when should you make blood smear straight away after taking the sample?

Answer 9

changes to morphology of RBCs can happen over time such as echinocytosis

Question 10

blood from which tube should be used for a blood smear?

Answer 10

fresh anti-coagulated blood from an EDTA

Question 11

what is the best area of a blood smear to assess morphology of cells?

Answer 11

monolayer

Question 12

why would you look in the feathered edge of a blood smear?

Answer 12

detect presence of platelet clumps (lavender coloured clumps of cells)