Intro to Haematology Flashcards
What is covered by the clinical speciality of heamtology?
1 - Investigation of blood and bone marrow
2 - Management of disorders of blood and bone marrow
What are the 3 major constituents of blood?
1 - Plasma
2 - Buffy coat
3 - Red blood cells
What are the components of plasma?
1 - Clotting/coagulation factors
2 - Albumin
3 - Antibodies
What are the components of the buffy coat?
1 - Platelets
2 - White cells or Leucocytes
What are the 3 main functions of blood?
1 - Transport
2 - Maintenance of vascular integrity
3 - Protection against pathogens
What does blood transport?
1 - Gases (O2, CO2)
2 - Nutrients
3 - Waste
4 - Messages
What component of blood carries gases?
Red cells
What component of blood carries the nutrients, waste and messages?
Plasma
In what ways does blood maintain vascular integrity?
1 - Prevention of leaks
2 - Prevention of blocakges
Which components of blood are responsible for preventing leaks?
1 - Platelets
2 - Clotting factors
Which component of blood is responsible for preventing blockages?
1 - Anticoagulants
2 - Fibrinolytics
In what ways does blood provide protection from pathogens?
1 - Phagocytosis and killing
2 - Antigen recognition and antibody formation
Which components of blood are responsible for phagocytosis and killing?
Macrophages
Neutrophils
Which components of blood are responsible for anitgen recognition and antibody formation?
Lymphocytes
What are the main categories of haematological abnormalities?
1 - High levels of blood
2 - Low levels of blood
3 - Altered function
What is haematopoiesis?
The differentiation of stem cells into red blood cells and lymphoid cells
What are erythrocytes?
Red blood cells (erythros = red)
What are the myeloid cells?
Erythrocytes
Platelets
Neutrophils
Monocytes
Basophils
Eosinophils
What are the lymphoid cells?
Natural Killer cells
T and B cells
What is meant by totipotency?
The ability of a single cell to divide and produce all of the differntiated cells of an organism
Can stem cells self-renew?
Yes
What type of marrow do stem cells contain?
Marrow niche - CXCR4
What are the processes involved in stem cell differentiation?
Binary Fission
Flux
What regulates the process of flux?
Hormones
Growth factors
Where is bone marrow found in children?
In most bones
Where is bone marrow found in the elderly?
Axial bones
What does bone marrow look like?
Stroma and sinusoids
What are the stages in Erythroid differentiation?
1) Erythroblast
2) Reticulocyte
3) Erythrocyte
What is erythropoietin?
Glycoprotein cytokine
What does erythropoietin do?
Stimulates the production of RBC’s in bone marrow
Where is erythropoietin made?
Kidney
In response to what conditions is erythropoietin made?
Hypoxia
Why is the reticulocyte count useful?
It can be used as a measure of red cell production
What is polycythaemia?
An abnormally high concentration of haemoglobin in the blood
What are the causes of polycythaemia?
Reduction in plasma volume
Increased in number of red blood cells
What is the general consequence of anaemia?
Poor gas transfer
What are the specific problems caused by anaemia?
Dyspnoea
Fatigue