RBC Disorders Flashcards
blood - characteristics
*homogenous multifunctional specialized fluid connective tissue
*mature cellular elements ONLY: granulocytes, lymphocytes, platelets, RBCs
*specialized proteinaceous plasma fluid: immunoglobulins, coagulation factors, etc
bone marrow - characteristics
*heterogeneous site for hematopoiesis; reservoir for proliferation and differentiation
*% hematopoiesis - predictable cellularity (10% decrease in celullarity per decade of life)
*myeloid:erythroid ratio (3:1) - predictable cellular composition
lymphoreticular organs - characteristics
*immune surveillance of “interior” body surfaces and components of internal fluids
*lymph nodes, MALT, spleen, liver
anemia - defined
*red blood cell “deficiency” with inadequate O2-carrying capacity for proper metabolic function
*characterized by hemoglobin < 95% of the reference interval for age, sex, and geographic location
note - anemia is a SECONDARY MANIFESTATION of other disease process
3 mechanistic classifications of anemias
- blood loss (hemorrhage)
-acute (e.g. trauma)
-chronic (e.g. slow loss, GI/GU) - RBC destruction (hemolytic anemias)
-intrinsic abnormalities (membranopathies, enzymopathies, hemoglobinopathies)
-extrinsic abnormalities (immune mediation, RBC fragmentation syndromes) - impaired RBC production (non-hemolytic anemias)
-erythroblast maturation defects (vitamin deficiencies, hemoglobin synthesis defects)
-stem cell production failure
morphologic classification: MICROcytic anemias
*DECREASED HEMOGLOBIN SYNTHESIS
*normal cellular proliferation and DNA synthesis
*PALER, SMALLER cells
*can result from decreased synthesis of heme or improper synthesis of globins
top 4 causes of microcytic anemias
- IRON DEFICIENCY***
- anemia of chronic disease
- thalassemias
- sideroblastic anemia
morphologic classification: MACROcytic anemias
*DEFECTIVE DNA SYNTHESIS
*asynchrony b/w nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation
*gigantic cells with immature chromatin: MEGALOBLASTS
-larger, normochromic red cells
-hypersegmented nuclei of granulocytes
top 4 causes of macrocytic anemias
- vitamin B12 deficiency
- folate deficiency
- drug-induced (e.g. methotrexate, dilantin, sulfa, AZT)
- other (alcoholism, liver disease, MDS, reticulocytosis)
morphologic classification: NORMOcytic anemias
*NORMAL cell size
*various pathogenetic mechanisms
-acute hemorrhage
-RBC enzyme defects (e.g G6PD deficiency)
-RBC membrane defects
-bone marrow disorders
-hemoglobin variants
-autoimmune hemolytic anemia
calculation for MCV (mean corpuscular volume)
Hct / RBC count
normal MCV range
80-100 fL
note - < 80 is microcytic; > 100 is macrocytic
calculation for MCHC (mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration)
Hb / Hct
note - MCHC is the mean concentration of hemoglobin in RBC
reticulocytosis
a normal increase in reticulocytes in the peripheral blood in response to anemia (indicates that the bone marrow is properly compensating for the anemia)
iron deficiency anemia (IDA) - epidemiology
*primary cause of defective heme synthesis
*MOST COMMON CAUSE OF ANEMIA WORLDWIDE
*about 20% of women, 50% of pregnant women; 3% of men
iron deficiency anemia (IDA) - pathophysiology in infants/children
dietary insufficiency