The American Society of Hematology had their
Slide Saturday Challenge yesterday…
”Analyze this
peripheral blood smear from the #ASHImageBank and identify the structures that
the arrows are pointing to. How are these structures formed and what disorders
could they be indicative of?
Share your insights in
the comments!”
For once everyone had the answer right –
acanthocytes. So often pictures like this on Facebook have as many disparate
answers as there are people to give them.
The expert opinion said “The
peripheral blood smear shows red blood cells with arrows pointing to
acanthocytes (also called spur cells) which are spiculated cells with
irregular, pointed or clublike projections that are unevenly distributed on the
cell surface. Central pallor is absent.
Acanthocytes form as a
result of membrane lipid abnormalities, and can be seen in liver disease,
neuroacanthocytosis, severe malnutrition, and abetalipoproteinemia.
Did you guess
correctly?”
Personally I’d have liked a comparison
with burr cells; to me a burr cell has projections more regularly all the way
round the cell. I would have liked to have seen if expert opinion agreed with
me.
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