WBC

Question 1

What is WBC?

Answer 1

White blood cell

Question 2

A white blood cell (WBC) is also known as a

Answer 2

Leukocyte

Question 3

How many types of WBC are normally included in a differential?

Answer 3

5

Question 4

What is a white cell differential?

Answer 4

A measure of the percentages of leukocytes present in a sample.

Question 5

How many leukocytes are counted for a standard differential?

Answer 5

100

Question 6

What are the granular leukocytes?

Answer 6

Neutrophil, eosinophil, basophil.

Question 7

What are the agranular leukocytes?

Answer 7

Lymphocytes and monocytes.

Question 8

What is a mature neutrophil?

Answer 8

Granular leukocyte with segmented/lobed nucleus, where indentations between segments are greater than 50% of the width of the nucleus.

Question 9

What is a band neutrophil?

Answer 9

Immature neutrophil with less than 50% indentation in nucleus. Nucleus often in a U-shape, but not always.

Question 10

What is a basket cell or smudgocyte?

Answer 10

Leukocytes that are unable to be identified due to aging prior to the blood smear being made or as an artifact due to the preparer being heavy handed when making the blood smear.

Question 11

What is a basophil?

Answer 11

Granular leukocyte with pale lavender cytoplasm with folded, ribbon-like nuclei (canine) to light purple/lavender granules (feline).

Question 12

What is basophilia?

Answer 12

Higher than usual basophils.

Question 13

Blasts/Big Blue Cells

Answer 13

Can resemble lymphocytes. Don’t tend to vary from cell to cell in size, have fine chromatin, and nucleoli can be present with grainy blue cytoplasm that is more uniform in content. Can indicate acute leukemia.

Question 14

What is an eosinophil?

Answer 14

Granular leukocyte with pink-staining granules in cytoplasm. Exception: Greyhound eosinophils lack visible granules and appear vacuolated with grey cytoplasm.

Question 15

What is eosinophilia?

Answer 15

Higher than usual eosinophils.

Question 16

What is leukergy?

Answer 16

Clumping together of leukocytes, particularly lymphocytes but also occasionally neutrophils.

Question 17

What is leukocytosis?

Answer 17

Higher than usual leukocytes.

Question 18

What is leukopenia?

Answer 18

Lower than usual leukocytes.

Question 19

What is a lymphocyte?

Answer 19

Mononuclear leukocyte with a round nucleus with smooth, dense chromatin with a small rim of light blue cytoplasm. Typically smaller than other leukocytes. Not to be confused with nucleated red blood cells.

Question 20

How is a small lymphocyte determined?

Answer 20

Nucleus of lymphocyte can fit into a neutrophil.

Question 21

How is a medium lymphocyte determined?

Answer 21

Nucleus is the size of a neutrophil.

Question 22

How is a large lymphocyte determined?

Answer 22

Neutrophil can fit inside of nucleus.

Question 23

What is lymphocytosis?

Answer 23

Higher than usual lymphocytes.

Question 24

What is lymphopenia?

Answer 24

Lower than usual lymphocytes.

Question 25

What is a monocyte?

Answer 25

Mononuclear leukocyte that can vary in size and appearance. Nucleus can be round to kidney bean shaped to pseudo-lobulated like a neutrophil to band-shaped. Can be distinguished by less dense, sometimes “lacey” chromatin. Cytoplasm is usually smooth (but not as smooth as that of a lymphocyte) and blue-gray and can be vacuolated and occasionally may contain fine pink-red granules.

Question 26

What is monocytosis?

Answer 26

Higher than usual monocytes.

Question 27

What is neutropenia?

Answer 27

Lower than usual neutrophils.

Question 28

What is neutrophilia?

Answer 28

Higher than usual neutrophils.

Question 29

What is pancytopenia?

Answer 29

Lower than usual number of leukocytes, erythrocytes, and platelets (anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia).

Question 30

What are reactive lymphocytes?

Answer 30

Can vary in size with clumped chromatin and an increase in blue cytoplasm. Not to be confused with blasts.

Question 31

What is a toxic neutrophil?

Answer 31

A neutrophil that contains less condense chromatin than healthy neutrophils and bluer cytoplasm (cytoplasmic basophilia).

Question 32

What is a hypersegmented neutrophil?

Answer 32

A segmented neutrophil with greater than usual segments in nucleus.

Question 33

What is a granular lymphocyte?

Answer 33

A lymphocyte that has small red granules in the nucleus, usually in an indentation.

Question 34

What is cytoplasmic basophilia?

Answer 34

A streaky diffuse irregular blue appearance to the cytoplasm.

Question 35

What are Döhle bodies?

Answer 35

Pale round to linear blue aggregates in cytoplasm. Often an early sign of toxic change, this can also be found in healthy cats so, therefore, do not always signal toxic change.

Question 36

What is cytoplasmic vacuolation?

Answer 36

Indistinct vacuoles in the cytoplasm, giving it a frothy appearance.

Question 37

What is a left shift?

Answer 37

The presence of immature neutrophils (>600/μL in dogs and >300/μL in cats) in the blood and usually, but not always, indicates an inflammatory leukogram.

Question 38

What is a Barr body?

Answer 38

Small projection from the nucleus of a neutrophil. Is an inactive sex chromatin that can be seen in the blood of female dogs.

Question 39

What is a degenerative left shift?

Answer 39

The absolute numbers of band or immature neutrophils are greater than the absolute numbers of mature or segmented neutrophils.

Question 40

What is a stress leukogram?

Answer 40

Mature neutrophilia (no left shift), lymphopenia, monocytosis, and eosinopenia.

Question 41

What is an inflammatory leukogram?

Answer 41

Typically includes a neutrophilia with left shift, lymphopenia, monocytosis, and may or may not include an eosinopenia.