Microscopic Anatomy PBL Worksheet: blood and hemopoiesis
Nov. 16, 2000
Understanding the prefixes, suffixes, and roots of medical terms will
help you understand and remember the meaning of the words you encounter
in your present and future learning. Working with your neighbors, use
your medical dictionary and determine both the word origins and
the contextual meanings for each of the following words or phrases
related to cytology and bone. You may have to break a word/phrase up
into several parts to discover its derivation.
coagulopathy
Derivation:
Contextual meaning:
hemolysis
Derivation:
Contextual meaning:
mean corpuscular volume (MCV)
Derivation:
Contextual meaning:
nonregenerative anemia
Derivation:
Contextual meaning:
erythron
Derivation:
Contextual meaning:
hemostasis
Derivation:
Contextual meaning:
Application Questions:
From Robinson’s "Current Therapy in Equine Medicine 4", 1997, p. 283:
[Anemia of chronic disease] is well recognized in mammalian species,
and is characterized by a mild to moderate, nonregenerative, normochromic,
normocytic anemia."
Based on the above description, what can you say about the size
and staining of the red blood cells that would be present on a slide
made from an animal suffering from anemia of chronic disease (ACD)?
Based on your knowledge to date and the description above, discuss
what you think is abnormal in the erythron of an animal suffering
from ACD. (Hint, if the anemia is "normochromic" and "normocytic",
what else could be wrong to call the condition "anemia"?)
From Robinson’s "Current Therapy in Equine Medicine 4", 1997, pp.
285-286: "In healthy horses, the platelet count ranges from 1 X
105 to 6 X 105/µl. A platelet count
of less than 100,000/µl constitutes thrombocytopenia. Several mechanisms
exist: (1) decreased or ineffective production; (2) sequestration of
platelets in the reticuloendothelial organs, the spleen and liver; and
(3) increased loss, use or consumption of platelets. …. Horses with
tumors of the vascular tissues such as hemangioma and hemangiosarcoma
… may be thrombocytopenic due to excessive coagulation. … Signs specific
to thrombocytopenia include petechial and ecchymotic hemorrhages on
oral and nasal mucous membranes, sclera, third eyelid, vulva, and occasionally
inside the ear. Epistaxis, melena, hyphema, and hematuria also occur.
… Spontaneous hemorrhage is rare unless the platelet count is less than
10,000 to 20,000/µl."
What is "sequestration"?
Why do you think that vascular tissue tumors can result in excessive
coagulation?
What are "petechial and ecchymotic hemorrhages"?
From Robinson’s "Current Therapy in Equine Medicine 4", 1997, p. 295:
"Leukemia is the abnormal proliferation of hematopoietic cells and encompasses
both lympho- and myeloproliferative disorders. … Leukemia can be classified
based on (1) the type of abnormal cell: lymphoid or myeloid; (2) the
degree of tumor differentiation: acute or chronic; and (3) the number
of abnormal cells circulating in the peripheral blood: aleukemic; subleukemic,
leukemic."
What is the difference between lympho- and myeloproliferative disorders?
If an animal develops a granulocytic leukemia, what do you think
happens to the numbers of other blood cells in circulation? (Hint:
tumors are space-occupying lesions…)