Ask Hematologist | Understand Hematology
Everything you need to know about blood disorders
Many cancers may infiltrate the bone marrow, most common are carcinoma of the lung, breast, prostate, colon, and thyroid. In adults, malignant infiltration of bone marrow is most often seen in carcinomas of the prostate, breast, and lung, although any tumor that gives rise to blood borne metastases may infiltrate the marrow. In children, malignant infiltration of bone marrow is […]
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Introduction: Red blood cells (RBCs) are made in the bone marrow—a sponge-like tissue inside the bones. They live for about 120 days in the bloodstream and then die. Hemolysis involves premature destruction and hence a shortened RBCs life span (< 120 days). When RBCs die, the body’s bone marrow makes more blood cells to replace them. However, in hemolytic anemias, the bone […]
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Background: Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) is an uncommon disorder in which maturation arrest occurs in the formation of erythrocytes. Erythroblasts are virtually absent in bone marrow; however, WBC and platelet production is normal. The anemia due to PRCA is usually normocytic but can be macrocytic. The characteristics of PRCA include severe anemia, a reticulocyte count <1%, and the presence […]
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Aplastic anemia is a rare disease in which the bone marrow and the hematopoietic stem cells that reside there are damaged. This causes a deficiency of all three blood cell types (pancytopenia): red blood cells (anemia), white blood cells (leucopenia), and platelets (thrombocytopenia). Aplastic refers to the inability of the stem cells to generate mature blood cells. Aetiology: Congenital: The […]
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Introduction: Megaloblastic anemias are a group of disorders characterized by reduced DNA synthesis (not just in red cell series) associated with pathognomonic morphological changes. When DNA synthesis is impaired, the cell cycle cannot progress from the G2 growth stage to the mitosis (M) stage. This leads to continuing cell growth without division, which presents as macrocytosis. In other words, megaloblastic anemia […]
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Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia, and it occurs when your body doesn’t have enough iron. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin. When there isn’t enough iron in your bloodstream, the rest of your body can’t get the amount of oxygen it needs. Iron is a mineral. Most of the iron in the body […]
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Anemias-General Approach: Anemia is a condition in which you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin (Hb) to carry adequate oxygen to the body’s tissues. Anemia is not a diagnosis; it is a manifestation of an underlying disorder. Thus, even mild, asymptomatic anemia should be investigated so that the primary problem can be diagnosed and treated. When anemia […]
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