Jessica Anderson
3/30/14
Medical Nutrition Therapy Hematology Terminology
Agranulocytosis – failure of the bone marrow to make enough white blood cells;
acure condition marked by a severe depression of the bone marrow, which
produces white blood cells, and by prostration, chills, swollen neck, and sore throat
sometimes with local ulceration.
Aleukemic Leukemia – a type of leukemia in which the total leukocyte count
remains within normal limits or is low and few abnormal forms appear in the
peripheral blood; diagnosis requires bone marrow biopsy; it occurs in 30% of all
patients with leukemia, regardless of the specific type
Anisocytosis – variation in the size of cells that are normally uniform, especially red
blood cells
Anoxemia – absence of oxygen in the arterial blood; formerly often used to include
moderate decrease in oxygen now properly distinguished as hypoxemia
Aplasia – lack of development of an organ or tissue; defective development or
complete absence of an organ due to failure of development of the embryonic
tissues or cells – hematologic disorder in which the normal progression of cell
generation and development does not occur
Basket Cell – neuron of the cerebral cortex whose fibers form a basket-like nest in
which the Purkinje cell rests
Blood Dyscrasia – diseased state of the blood, usually one in which the blood
contains permanent abnormal cellular elements
Chemotaxis – movement toward or away from a chemical stimulus; cellular
function, particularly of neutrophils and monocytes, whose phagocytic activity is
influenced by chemical factors released by invading microorganisms
Coagulation Time – time required for blood to coagulate in a glass tube; measure of
the intrinsic system of coagulation; blood maintained at constant temperature and
examined regularly until clotting occurs; less sensitive and less often used than the
activation coagulation time.
Cocatalyst – either of a pair of catalysts that improve each others catalytic activity
Complete Blood Count – combination of totals from the red blood cell count, white
blood cell count, erythrocyte indices, hematocrit, and differential blood count (i.e.
blood profile)
Dyscrasia – any morbid general state resulting from the presence of abnormal
material in the blood, usually applied to diseases affecting blood cells or platelets
Erythremia – chronic form of polycythemia of unknown cause, characterized by an
increase in blood volume and red blood cells, bone marrow hyperplasia, redness or
cyanosis of the skin, and enlargement of the spleen (AKA Olser-Vaquez disease)
Erythrogenic – producing erythrocytes; causing inflammation and reddening of the
skin
Erythropenia – deficiency in the number of erythrocytes (red blood cells)
Extrinsic – of external origin; of or relating to an organ or structure, especially
muscle, originating outside the part where it is found or upon which it acts;
adventitious
Fragility Test – test to measure the resistance of red blood cells (erythrocytes) to
hemolysis in hypotonic solutions
Hematology – branch of medical science dealing with the blood and blood-forming
tissues, including morphology, physiology, and pathology
Hematoma- accumulation of clotted blood that develops within an open body space,
organ, or tissue as a result of damage to a blood vessel
Hemoglobinuria – presence of free hemoglobin in the urine
Hemolysis – breakdown of red blood cells and the release of hemoglobin that occurs
normally at the end of the lifespan of a red blood cell
Hemoptysis- coughing up of blood or bloody sputum from the lungs or airway;
defined by 200-600mL of blood coughed up within a period of 24 hours or less
Intravascular – within a blood vessel (one or more)
*Isotonic – having equal tension; denoting solutions possessing the same osmotic
pressure; same osmotic pressure as body fluids
Jaundice – condition in which a person’s skin and the whites of the eyes are
discolored yellow due to an increased level of bile pigments in the blood resulting
from liver disease (sometimes called icterus)
Karyolysis – dissolution of a nucleus of a cell by swelling and loss of affinity of its
chromatin for basic dyes
Macrocyte – abnormally large erythrocyte; especially one associated with
pernicious anemia (commonly seen within megaloblastic anemia’s)
Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) – expression of the average hemoglobin
content of a single cell in picograms, obtained by multiplying the hemoglobin in
grams by 10 and dividing by the number of erythrocytes (in millions)
Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) – average volume of erythrocytes, conventionally
expressed in cubic micrometers per red cell; obtained by multiplying the hematocrit
by 1000 and dividing by the red cell count (in millions)
Megaloblast – abnormally nucleated red blood cell found especially within
pernicious anemia or in certain vitamin deficiencies
Normoblast – nucleated red blood cell, the immediate precursor of a normal
erythrocyte in humans (immature); found in bloodstream in severe pernicious
anemia and in some leukemias
Pernicious Anemia – disease in which the red blood cells are abnormally formed,
due to an inability to absorb vitamin B12; true pernicious anemia refers to a
disorder of atrophied parietal cells leading to absent intrinsic factor, resulting in an
inability to absorb B12
Poikilocytosis – presence of polikilocytes in blood of erythocytes showing abnormal
variation in shape
Purpura – condition characterized by hemorrhages in the skin and mucous
membranes that result in the appearance of purplish spots or patches; caused by
leakage of blood out of a vessel and under the skin
Sedimentation Rate – degree of rapidity with which red blood cells sink in a
specimen of drawn blood, which when elevated may indicate anemia or
inflammation (AKA erythrocyte sedimentation rate)
Sickle Cell Anemia – chronic, usually fatal inherited form of anemia marked by
cresent shaped red blood cells, occurring almost exclusively in Black, and
characterized by fever, leg ulcers, jaundice, and episodic pain in the joints
Target Cell – red blood cell having a dark center surrounded by a light band that is
itself encircled by a darker ring, and occurring in certain anemias and after
splenectomy; cell selectively affected by particular agent, such as virus, drug, or
hormone
Xanthochromia – pale yellow or straw-colored discoloration of cerebrospinal fluid;
caused by presence of hemoglobin breakdown products, indicating that the
cerebrospinal fluid has contained blood in the recent past (hemorrhage of the CNS
and due to presence of Xanthermatin)