Introduction to Erythron Flashcards

1
Q

What is the difference between the shape of RBC in most mammals compared to birds, reptiles and camelids?

A

Mammals - biconcave, anucleated, central pallor
Birds/reptiles - nucleated
Camelids- Elliptical

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2
Q

What are the RBC production sites in

a) Foetus
b) Adult

A

a) Foetus - Liver/spleen

b) Adult - bone marrow (L/S maintain erythropoietic capacity) - long bones

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3
Q

What is the erythrocyte lifespan of

a) Dog
b) Cat
c) horse/cattle

A

a) 100 d
b) 70 d
c) 150 d

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4
Q

What are the routes of RBC removal?

A

Major route - senescent RC by phagocytic macrophages

Minor route - intravascular haemolysis

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5
Q

Components of a CBC

A
RBC concentration
 Total hemoglobin (HGB)
 hematocrit (HCT) and spun PCV
 Mean cell volume (MCV)
 Mean cell hemoglobin (MCH)
 Mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC)
 Red cell distribution width (RDW
 Platelet numbers
 Total WBC
 Breakdown of numbers of each type of WBC
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6
Q

What is anaemia and how can you find evidence of it in the CBC?

A

Reduction of Red cell mass

  • Haemoglobin conc
  • PCV
  • Haematocrit
  • Red blood cell conc
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7
Q

Polychromasia

A

Red blood cells that vary in color (some may be normal, some pale, etc)

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8
Q

Anisocytosis

A

the presence of red blood cells of unequal size

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9
Q

What are the classifications of anaemia?

A
  1. Mild, moderate, severe
  2. Regen or non-regen
  3. Normocytic, microcytic, macrocytic
  4. Normochromic, hypochromic (hyperchromic)
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10
Q

Hypochromasia

A

Erythrocytes that do not take up as much stain as usual (caused by decreased hemoglobin?)

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11
Q

Macrocytosis

A

the presence of macrocytes (large RBCs) in the blood

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12
Q

Normocytic

a) what are the abnormal terms?

A

Erythrocytes of unremarkable size
seen in: mild non-regen anaemia, acute haemorrhage

a) Microcytic and macrocytic

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13
Q

Why does microcytic erythrocytes occur?

Examples

A

Red cell haemoglobin conc determines when division stops - iron deficiency allows one more division = SMALLER RC

eg. PSS, Fe deficiency, hepatic failure

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14
Q

Name a normal breed that you can see microcytic red blood cells

A

Akitas

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15
Q

What is macrocytic erythrocytes and when would you see them?

A

In regeneration

- polychromatophils - larger than mature RBCs

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16
Q

What breed would you see macrocytic red blood cells?

A

Poodles

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17
Q

What is regenerative anaemia in response to?

A

Reduction in oxygenation

  1. Kidneys respond to low O2 by releasing erythropoietin
  2. stimulates bone marrow to increase red cell production
  3. takes 2-3 days and young red cells increase in circulation
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18
Q

What are young red blood cells called?

A

Reticulocytes

Polychromatophils and reticulocytes
SAME CELLS - have ribosomal RNA

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19
Q

What stain would you use to see reticulocytes?

A

Diff-Quik or Giemsa stained smear
ribosomal RNA - larger bluer cells (polychromatophils)

New methylene blue - RNA precipitates forming aggregates

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20
Q

What disease in cats can you see Macrocytosis?

A

FeLV

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21
Q

What is the normal PCV for a dog and a cat?

A

Dog: 45%
Cat: 35%

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22
Q

What is the normal amount of reticulocytes in a dog and a cat?

A

Dog - 1% corrected

Cat - 0.4%

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23
Q

What happens in regenerative anaemia to the reticulocyte %

A

Dog >1% corrected

Cat >0.4%

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24
Q

What are the 2 reasons for increased loss in Regenerative anaemia?

A
Haemolysis
Haemorrhage (internal and external)
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25
Q

What are some examples of haemorrhage?

A
External: 
Melena
Urinary tract
epistaxis
Post trauma/surgery
Internal:
Bleeding tumours
Trauma
Into tissue (bleeding diathesis - tendency)
surgery
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26
Q

What are some examples of haemolysis?

A
  • intravascular or extravascular
  • immune mediated - test with Coombs test = anti-RBC antibody
  • damaged/abnormal RBC
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27
Q

Agglutination vs. Rouleaux

A

Agglutination will appear as irregularly clumped together RBCs. Rouleaux will appear as rows of clumped RBCs (artefactual change)

28
Q

What can you see in intravascular haemolysis like Immune mediated haemolytic anaemia?

A

Ghost cells

29
Q

What are Ghost cells?

A

Erythrocyte membrane that has remained intact following hemolysis - lost haemoglobin

30
Q

What can you see in extravascular anaemia like IMHA?

A

Spherocytes

31
Q

What are spherocytes?

A

Half eaten RBC - don’t have central pallors (abnormal phagocytosis)

32
Q

What lab diagnostics can you find in IMHA?

A

Blood smear:

  • Opsonised RBCs
  • Lysed or phagocytosed RBCs (lysed is more common with IgM)
  • May agglutinate
  • Ghost cells

Increased bilirubin (esp extravascular H)
Neutrophilia, monocytosis
Platelets affected?

33
Q

What is the Evan’s syndrome?

A

IMHA + immune mediated platelet destruction (thrombocytopenia)

34
Q

Signs of regeneration

A

Howell-Joly bodies, polychromasia, nucleated RBCs, anisocytosis

35
Q

Howell-Jolly bodies

A

histopathological findings of basophilic nuclear remnants (clusters of DNA) in circulating erythrocytes

36
Q

What parasites cause haemolysis?

A

Mycoplasma haemofelis
-Blood-borne, epicellular parasites; come in large and small forms. Parasite increases fragility and hemolysis of RBCs. Cyclical in nature (3-8 weeks)
DDX: PCR

Babesia

37
Q

Name a type of haemolysis with damaged red blood cells

A

Heinz body associated anaemia

38
Q

What are Heinz bodies and how are they formed?

A

Denatured haemoglobin in RBC

Formed from oxidative injury

39
Q

Causes of heinz bodies

A
Oxidative injury:
Onions (dogs, cattle)
Paracetamol (aspirin)
Propofol (cats)
Vitamin K
Diabetes mellitus (cats)
Hyperthyroidism (cats)
Brassica (cattle)
Red maple (horses)
Propylene glycol
40
Q

What are eccentroycytes?

A

Haemoglobin has uneven distribution within cell

41
Q

Cause of eccentrocytosis

A

Oxidative damage, causes membrane cross bonding due to damage of membrane skeletal proteins

42
Q

Signs of oxidative damage

A

Heinz bodies, eccentrocytes, pyknocytes

43
Q

What are the Shear injury products and how are they formed?

A

Keratocytes, schistocytes, acanthocytes

Microangiopathic damage (tumors with narrow vessels), or organ inflammatory beds where there is fibrin stranding (severe hepatitis, DIC).

44
Q

Acanthocytes

A

Erythrocytes with non-uniform, varying projections from their membranes, common in hemangiosarcomas

45
Q

Schistocytes

A

Red cell fragments that occur secondary to shear injury

Associated with fibrin deposition in vessels and DIC

46
Q

Most common causes of non-regenerative anemia

A
  • Anaemia of inflammatory/chronic disease -Chronic renal failure
  • Decreased production in marrow
  • HypoT4 and Hyperadrenocorticism
  • FeLV
47
Q

Name some examples why anaemia occurs in inflamm/chronic disease

A

Fe sequestration - storage in macrophages not in circulation
inflamm mediators
shortened erythrocyte survival

48
Q

Why does chronic renal failure cause non-regen anaemia?

A

Kidneys produce erythropoietin - less production

49
Q

Why does HypoT4 and Hyperadrenocorticism cause anaemia?

A

Thyroid hormone and cortisol impact on red cell production

50
Q

What is aplastic anaemia?

A

all precursors wiped out

51
Q

Myelodysplasia

A

abnormal production of blood cells = ineffective erythropoiesis
Lead to leukaemia

52
Q

Myelopthisis

A

Neoplasia altering environment in bone marrow

53
Q

Basophilic stippling

A

erythrocytes display small dots at the periphery

54
Q

Leptocyte

A

An abnormally thin or flattened red blood cell having a central rounded pigmented area, a middle pigmentless zone, and a pigmented edge

55
Q

What is erythrocytosis?

A

Polycythemia
increase in HCT, RBC count and haemoglobin

  • dehydration (volume contraction)
  • RBC redistribution (splenic contraction
56
Q

Left shift neutrophils

A

Neutrophils that exhibit foamy cytoplasm and basophilia, as a result of being produced too quickly (toxic insult)

57
Q

Regenerative left shift

A

neutrophilia

segemented > bands

58
Q

Degenerative left shift

A

Neutropenia

Bands > segmented

59
Q

Right shift neutrophils

A

Hypersegmented nucleus, very unhappy cell

60
Q

What is a normal finding in puppies?

A

Low haematocrit

Low total protein vs adults

61
Q

What are normal findings in Cavalier king Charles spaniel?

A

Lower platelet numbers

Larger platelets

62
Q

What are the normal findings in sight hounds?

A

Higher haematocrit
lower neutrophils
vacuolated eosinophils

63
Q

Poikilocytosis

A

Abnormally shaped red blood cells

64
Q

Which species do you commonly see Rouleaux RBC?

A

Feline and Equine

65
Q

Which species do platelets stain poorly?

A

Equine

66
Q

Which species exhibits more anisocytosis of RBC than other species?

A

Bovine