Here's a quick crash course of the various shapes and their causes. Blood slides are all from wiki commons.
1. Teardrop cells - myelofibrosis
2. Helmet cells - microangiopathic haemolytic anaemias
click here to link to an image covered by copyright
3. Elliptocytes = Pencil cells - seen in hereditary elliptocytosis and iron deficiency
4. Sickle cells - seen in sickle cell disease
5. Spherocytes - seen in any haemolysis and in hereditary spherocytosis
6. Target cells - seen in liver disease, post splenectomy, iron deficieny, thalassaemia, haemoglobinopathies
click here to link to an image covered by copyright
7. Acanthocyte/burr cell - acanthocytes are seen in liver disease. Burr cells (=slightly less spikey than acanthocytes) appear in uraemia.
8. Schistocyte = shredded red blood cells, seen in DIC, mechanical heart valves, microangiopathic diseases, haemolytic anaemias
Thats all the battles for today; as promised at the beginning click here if you want to see some interesting pictures of what your workplace might look like if abandoned for a few years...
