Haematology- Intro to Haematology Flashcards
What are the four main components of blood?
Plasma
WBCs
RBCs
Platelets
Where is blood predominantly made?
Bone marrow
Where is blood made as a foetus?
Yolk sac and then eventually liver and spleen
What type of stem cells differentiates into all blood cells?
Hemocytoblast, a type of multipotent hemopoietic stem cell
Which cell differentiates from myeloblasts?
Basophils
Neutrophils
Eosinophil
Function of thrombocytes/platelets?
Blood clotting
Function of basophils?
Innate immune cell defending against allergens
Function of neutrophils?
Fights bacterial infection
High in levels of inflammation
Function of moncytes/macrophages?
‘Big eater’
Engulfs pathogens
Function of RBC?
Carries oxygen around the body.
Types of lymphocytes?
T lymphocytes
B lymphocytes
When studying
Look over this PowerPoint for production of blood cells and the different malignancies.
Anaemia?
Low haemoglobin
Erythrocytosis or polycythaemia?
Increase in number of RBCs, haemoglobin or haematocrit
Mean cell volume?
Average volume of RBCs
Reticulocyte?
Final stage of RBC development before full maturation
Haemolysis?
Process which reduces lifespan of a RBC.
->commonly leads to anaemia
Haemoglobinopathy?
Mutation in globin genes leading to abnormal haemoglobin synthesis
In the classification of anaemia (low hb), what could be the type of anaemia if there is a low MCV?
Iron defiency anaemia
Haemoglobinopathies e.g. thalassaemia
In the classification of anaemia (low hb), what could be the type of anaemia if there is a normal MCV?
Anaemia of chronic disease
Bone marrow failure
In the classification of anaemia (low hb), what could be the type of anaemia if there is a high MCV?
Haematinic defiency
Haemolysis
Leukopenia?
Low total WBC count
Leucocytosis?
High told WBC count
Thrombocytopenia?
Reduced platelet count
->Caused by decreased production or increased consumption of platelets
Thrombocytosis?
High platelet count.
->Caused by increased production (e.g. response to inflammation) or decreased consumption (hyposplenism)
Pancyotpenia?
A condition where there are lower levels of RBCs, WBCs and platelets.
->anaemia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia
List some of the causes of marrow failure.
Malignancy
Drugs- chemo, antibiotics
Infection- HIV
Nutritional
Radiation/poisons
Congenital
Acute leukaemia?
A cancer of ‘blast’ cells in bone marrow.
Blasts crowd out normal haematopoiesis and cause marrow failure.
They circulate in blood and can cause enlarged spleen or liver.
Chronic leukaemia?
Cancers of marrow where lymphocytes or granulocytes spill into blood and infiltrate the liver, spleen and lymph nodes.
Marrow disease can occur later in the disease.
Lymphoma?
A cancer of lymphocytes in the lymph nodes
->if lymphoma is in the blood marrow, you may find lymphoma cells in the blood
What are the two types of lymphoma?
Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Since non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are such a wide range of diseases, which two categories are there to subdivide them?
High grade
Low grade
What is the difference between a low and high grade Hodgkin’s lymphoma?
Low grade- grow over months to years. May not require treatment until symptoms develop. Treatment is to induce remission but not cure.
High-grade: aggressive, life-threatening and need urgent treatment but often curable
What are the two type of blood test to screen coagulation time?
PT- prothrombin time
APTT
What is normal PTR range?
10-13.5secs
What is normal APTT range?
25-35 secs
Which coagulation pathway is tested using PT?
Extrinsic pathway
Which coagulation pathway is tested using APTT?
Intrinsic pathway
List some of the scenarios where PT can be prolonged.
Problems with Factors II, V, VII, X or fibrinogen
Warfarin use
Vitamin K deficiency
Severe liver disease
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC)
List some of the scenarios where APTT can be prolonged.
Problems with Factor II, V, VIII, IX, X, XII or fibrinogen
Heparin therapy
Mild liver disease
DIC
If both PT and APTT are elevated, which coagulation pathway(s) is there a defect in?
Both intrinsic and extrinsic
If only PT is elevated, which coagulation pathway(s) is there a defect in?
Extrinsic pathway
If only APTT is elevated, which coagulation pathway(s) is there a defect in?
Intrinsic pathway
Give some examples of oral anticoagulants.
Warfarin
DOACs (direct oral anticoagulants) e.g. apixaban
Give some examples of parenteral anticoagulants.
Heparin- unfractionated heparin or low molecular weight heparin
Pentasaccharides
When it comes to anaemia, it’s important to remember that RBCs can’t just disappear.
So what are some of the reasons that there may be low RBC levels in the blood?
Reduced production
Increased loss
Sequestration (isolation)
Dilution
Macrocytosis is when there
