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•Extreme microcytosis in a patient with iron deficiency and suspected thalassemia trait. MCV 47
•Microcytic red blood cells measure 6 microns or less in diameter. The mean corpuscular volume is generally less than 80 fL, though the normal range varies slightly between laboratories and in different age groups. In contrast to spherocytes, which are also decreased in diameter, microcytes retain their central pallor. In microcytosis due to iron deficiency, the central pallor is increased (more than 1/3 the diameter of the cell).
•Markedly microcytic red blood cells may be miscounted as platelets by impedence counters, leading to a falsely elevated platelet count. The majority of the red cells in this image are also hypochromic.
Microcytosis
#00060299
Author: Teresa Scordino
Category: Morphologic variants of normal cells > Morphologic variants of Red Blood Cells/precursors > Normal Red blood cell morphology with resting lymphocyte for comparison > Anisocytosis > Microcytosis
Published Date: 01/13/2016
Category: Morphologic variants of normal cells > Morphologic variants of Red Blood Cells/precursors > Normal Red blood cell morphology with resting lymphocyte for comparison > Anisocytosis > Microcytosis
Published Date: 01/13/2016
•Extreme microcytosis in a patient with iron deficiency and suspected thalassemia trait. MCV 47
•Microcytic red blood cells measure 6 microns or less in diameter. The mean corpuscular volume is generally less than 80 fL, though the normal range varies slightly between laboratories and in different age groups. In contrast to spherocytes, which are also decreased in diameter, microcytes retain their central pallor. In microcytosis due to iron deficiency, the central pallor is increased (more than 1/3 the diameter of the cell).
•Markedly microcytic red blood cells may be miscounted as platelets by impedence counters, leading to a falsely elevated platelet count. The majority of the red cells in this image are also hypochromic.
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