From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Poikilocytosis

Field	Value
name	Poikilocytosis
image	Poikilocytes - Red blood cell types.jpg
caption	Examples of red blood cell types that can give rise to poikilocytosis.

| Poikilocytosis is variation in the shapes of red blood cells. Poikilocytes may be oval, teardrop-shaped, sickle-shaped or irregularly contracted.

Normal red blood cells are round, flattened disks that are thinner in the middle than at the edges. A poikilocyte is an abnormally-shaped red blood cell. Generally, poikilocytosis can refer to an increase in abnormal red blood cells of any shape, where they make up 10% or more of the total population of red blood cells.

Types

Human red blood cells showing poikilocytosis

Membrane abnormalities

Acanthocytes or Spur/Spike cells
Codocytes or Target cells
Echinocytes and Burr cells
Elliptocytes and Ovalocytes
Spherocytes
Stomatocytes or Mouth cells
Drepanocytes or Sickle Cells
Degmacytes or "bite cells"

Trauma

Dacrocytes or Teardrop Cells
Keratocytes
Microspherocytes and Pyropoikilocytes
Schistocytes
Semilunar bodies

Diagnosis

Poikilocytosis may be diagnosed with a test called a blood smear. During a blood smear, a medical technologist/clinical lab scientist spreads a thin layer of blood on a microscope slide and stains the blood to help differentiate the cells. The technologist/clinical lab scientist then views the blood under a microscope, where the sizes and shapes of the red blood cells can be seen.

Treatment

In all cases, the treatment of poikilocytosis depends on its cause. For example, poikilocytosis can be caused by a vitamin deficiency (e.g. vitamin B12, folic acid), in which case the treatment is to replenish the deficient vitamin. It can be caused by a digestive disease, such as celiac disease, in which case the solution may lie in treating the underlying celiac disease so that nutrients can be properly absorbed.

Etymology

The term derives from poikilos (ποικίλος), which means "varied" in Greek.

References

Barbara J. Bain. (2006). "Blood cells: a practical guide". Wiley-Blackwell.
Ford, J.. (June 2013). "Red blood cell morphology". International Journal of Laboratory Hematology.
{{in lang
"poikilo-". Wiktionary.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

red-blood-cell-disorders abnormal-clinical-and-laboratory-findings-for-rbcs

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Poikilocytosis — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report