alpha-Thalassemia

Thalassemia is a spectrum of genetic conditions in which one or more globin genes are defective, resulting in reduced or deficient synthesis of the related globin chains. Patients with minor genetic abnormalities are usually asymptomatic. Patients with more severe abnormalities have symptoms caused by one or more of the following: …

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Flowcytometry Basics

The measurement or quantification of cells suspended in a fluid phase is performed using flow cytometry. Fluorochrome-coupled antibodies specific for a certain cellular marker are used to label the cells. The fluidics chamber enables that cell travel via a laser beam in a single file, exciting the fluorochrome. A detector …

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Lupus Erythematosus Cell

Introduction Hargraves et al., identified the LE cell phenomena in bone marrow in 1948. Lupus erythromatosus is an autoimmune disease in which autoantibodies attack cell nuclei components. In lupus erythromatosus, antibodies such as LE factor, antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti double stranded DNA (anti ds DNA), anti single stranded DNA, anti …

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D-Dimer

During hemostasis, coagulation system development of fibrin clots as a reaction to vascular injury is regulated by the fibrinolytic system breakup of the clot. D- Dimers are one of several fragments formed when plasmin, an enzyme that is activated by the fibrinolytic pathway, cleaves fibrin to break down clots. It …

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Principles of automated blood cell counters

Till the late 1950s, blood cells were routinely counted manually. In 1956,  W. H. Coulter patented a system which used the electrical impedance process, also known as aperture impedance, to count blood cells. This innovation made the blood cell counts production quicker, smoother, and more accessible. The first instruments of …

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Collection of blood Specimens for coagulation studies

Venipuncture is a convenient way to provide a large blood sample that can be used for many various studies. A venipuncture, also called a phlebotomy, is punctured by a hypodermic needle in the superficial vein and blood is drawn into the vacuum tube or syringe. Performing a venipuncture involves several …

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Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT)

The activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT or aPTT) is a coagulation test used to evaluate low-dose heparin therapy and test for the function of hemostasis’ intrinsic and normal pathway. The reagent used to perform the APTT is partial thromboplastin, which is the lipid portion of thromboplastin in the tissue. The …

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Immune (Idiopathic) Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Primary immune thrombocytopenia, commonly known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura(ITP), is an inflammatory bleeding disorder that affects both adults and infants. It was previously thought to be an autoantibody condition in which the reticuloendothelial system prematurely destroyed platelets that had been opsonized with antiplatelet antibody. Recent studies have revealed that there …

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Pelger-Huët Anomaly

Pelger-Huët anomaly (PHA), also known as true or congenital PHA, is an autosomal dominant condition marked by reduced nuclear segmentation (bilobed, unilobed) and a distinctive coarse chromatin clumping pattern that can involve any leukocyte, while morphologic differences are more noticeable in mature neutrophils. A mutation in the lamin β-receptor gene …

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