Hematology Flashcards
Hematology
The study of blood, the blood-forming organs and blood diseases. hematology includes the study of diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and prevention of blood diseases
What is blood?
- Delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells
- Delivers immune cells to fight infection
- Forms a plug in damaged blood vessel to prevent blood loss
Red Blood Cells/erythrocytes
- Donuts shape (without the hole)
- Full of hemoglobin which is a protein that binds oxygen to the cell
- Hemoglobin gives blood its red color
- In order to make hemoglobin you need iron
- Every second, 2-3 million RBC are made in the bone marrow and circulate for about 120 days before being recycled in the spleen or liver
Sickle cell anemia
An inherited condition in which there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen throughout your body
- Normally your red blood cells are flexible and round, moving easily through your blood vessels
- In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid and sticky and are shaped like sickles or crescent moon
- These irregular shaped cells can get stuck in small blood cells which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body
Bilirubin
An orange-yellow product formed as a breakdown product of hemoglobin (from red blood cells) in the liver and is secreted into the bile, which enters the intestines and makes stool brown.
Sometimes the liver can’t process the bilirubin in the body. This can be due to;
An excess of RBC breakdown
An obstructed bile duct
Inflammation of the liver
Jaundice
When your body has too much bilirubin, your skin and the whites of your eyes will start to yellow. This condition is called: jaundice
Platelets (thrombocytes):
- Mediates clotting to prevent blood loss
- When platelets reach a site of a blood vessel damage, they become activated and clump together to form a platelet plug that adheres to the damaged vessel wall to block blood loss
White Blood Cells (leukocytes)
- There are many types of WBC with specialized function all involved in immunity
- Some WBC only recognize a specific pathogen. If they find it, they increase rapidly and produce products to kill the pathogen or recruit other immune cells to help
- Other WBC can respond to many pathogens and also are involved in caring debris and preparing tissues following a wound
Plasma
- Plasma is the liquid component of blood, predominately water
- Plasma also contains dissolved nutrients
- Plasma circulates nutrients throughout the body and picks up waste products for excretion (carbon dioxide)
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
- a complete blood count is a simple blood test that is commonly ordered as part of a routine medical assessment
- A count of the different types of cells found in the blood
- The test can diagnose and monitor many different disease such as anemia, infection, inflammatory diseases and malignancy
Hematocrit
the ratio of the volume of red blood cells to the total volume of blood, the percentage of space RBC take up normal (37-45)
Erythropoietin
The kidneys produce a hormone called erythropoietin which stimulates the bone marrow to produce RBC
Polycythemia
- is a blood disorder when there are too many RBC. The excess RBC cause the blood to increase in volume and thicken keeping it from flowing easily
- Always consider: kidney disease as cause
Anemia
- If a patient has a low level of hemoglobin they have a condition called anemia
- Anemia is not a disease or illness itself its a symptom of many conditions
