Term | Definition |
Unusual tiredness, lethargy or fatigue | Anaemia, malignancy, sleep problems, depression |
Frequent infections, problems recovering from infections | Immunosuppression, leukaemia, age, diabetes, HIV. |
Chronic high fevers and sweats | High grade aggressive lymphomas |
Fever | CMV and EBV |
Faint, widespread non-itchy rash | EBV |
Jaundice | Haemolytic anaemia |
Plethoric face and conjunctiva | Polycythaemia |
Parasthesiae and neurological deficits | B12 deficiency |
Abnormal bleeding and ecchymoses | Trauma, thrombocytopenia, coagulation disorders, age, Cushing’s syndrome |
Petechiae/purpura | Thrombocytopenia, platelet dysfunction (chronic liver disease, aspirin, MPD), septicaemia, scurvy |
Petechiae | < 3mm |
Pupura | 0.3-1cm |
Ecchymoses | >1cm |
Bone pain (primary disease) | Acute leukaemia with rapid expansions |
Bone pain (secondary disease) | Secondary metastases of lung, breast or prostate cancer |
Leg swelling and pain | DVT |
Pruritis | Polycythaemia, lymphoma, myeloproliferative disease |
Postural hypotension | Anaemia and dehydration |
Koilonychia | Dry, brittle, spoon-shaped nails seen in anaemia |
Epitrochlear lymph node enlargement | Hodgkin's lymphoma, local infection, syphilis |
Hypertrophy of gums | Acute monocytic leukaemia |
Atrophic glossitis | Megaloblatic anaemia or iron deficiency anaemia |
Rubbery and firm lymph nodes | Lymphoma |
Solid lymph nodes | Metastases from tumours |
Fixed nodule | Cancerous lymph node |
Hepatomegaly | EBV, malaria, myeloma, leukaemia, lymphoma, haemolytic anaemia, alcoholism. |
Splenomegaly | EBV, malignancy, polycytheamia, sypihilis, portal hypertension |
Low serum iron with low TIBC | Anaemia of chronic disease |
Low serum iron with high TIBC | Iron deficiency anaemia |
Sideroblastic anaemia | Microcytic anaemia, X-linked inheritance. Deposits of iron around a primitive red cell nucleus |
Target cells | Liver disease, thalassemia, post-splenectomy |
Inheriting 3 abnormal alpha thalassemia genes | HbH disease |
Inheriting 2 abnormal alpha thalassemia genes | Decreased MCV with slight decrease in Hb |
Inheriting 1 abnormal alpha thalassemia genes | Decreased MCV |
Spherocyte | Hereditary spherocytosis, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, burns. |
Tear drop cell | Myelofibrosis, thalassemia |
Pencil cells | Iron deficiency anaemia, megaloblastic anaemia, hereditary elliptocytosis |
Acanthocytes (irregular spicules) | Alcoholic liver disease, post-splenectomy |
Stomatocytes (slit like region of central pallor) | Alcoholic liver disease, obstructive jaundice, herediatary stomatocytosis |
Sickle cell | Genetic mutation of beta haemoglobin chain, sickle-shaped cells, auto-agglutination at low O2 |
Schistocyte (fragmented RBC) | Microangiopathic anaemia (disseminated intravascular coagulation, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, pre-eclampsia) |
Rouleux formation | Multiple myeloma, temporal arteritis |
Auto-agglutination | Warm or cold type auto-agglutinins, incompatible blood transfusion. |
Neutrophilia | Infection, inflammation, corticosteroid therapy, MPNs (CML), pregnancy, treatmetn with GC-CSF. |
Neutropenia | Cytotoxic chemotherapy, megalobalstic anaemia, infections. |
Toxic granulation | Bacterial infections, sepsis |
Elevated neutrophils over lymphocytes | Bacterial infection |
Elevated lymphocytes over neutrophils | Viral infection |
Dohle bodies (blue patches in cytoplasm) | Severe sepsis |
Hypersegmented neutrophils (>5 segs) | Megaloblastic anaemia, myelodysplasia, methotrexate |
Neutrophil left shift | Bacterial infections, chronic myeloid leukaemia |
Blasts | Acute leukaemia |
Eosinophilia | Allergic conditions, parasites, drug hypersensitivity |
Basophilia (least numerous of all blood cells) | Myeloproliferative disorders (CML), allergic reactions |
Monocytosis | Bacterial infections, myelodysplasia, chronic infection (TB, syphilis) or chronic inflammation (rheumatoid arthritis) |
Lymphocytosis | Infections, CLL, pertussis infection, hairy cell leukaemia |
Lymphocytes that smear on blood film | CLL |
Reactive lymphocytes | Acute viral infection (hep, EBV, CMV), drugs, allergic reactions |
Mild thrombocytopenia | 100-150 |
Moderate thrombocytopenia | 30-100 |
Severe thrombocytopenia | <30 |
Thrombocytosis | ET, iron deficiency anaemia and blood loss, chronic infection, malignancy |
The most common leukaemia in children | Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia |
Auer rods | Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia |
Chronic leukaemias | Pallor, gout, massive splenomegaly, mild hepatomegaly |
Multiple myeloma | Normocytic, normochromic anaemia, purpura, infection, skin changes, spinal cord compression (bony infiltration) |
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura | Bruising, wet purpura, petechial rash with no abnormalities on bone marrow |
Burkitt's lymphoma | Type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, B memory cell neoplasm.
Associated with MYC up-regulated oncogene t(8:14) |
Follicular lymphoma | B cell lymphoma involving the decreased expression of BCL2 tumour suppressor gene. |
Hodkgin's lymphoma | Reed-Sternberg cell, painless, rubbery lymph node enlargement, weight loss, eveer, infiltration of lungs, bones and spinal cord |
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma | Multiple lymph nodes involved, hepatosplenomegaly, extranodal spread, less common to have systemic signs |
Multiple Myeloma | CRABS (cord compression, renal failure, anaemia, bleeding, skin changes)and Bence-Jones proteins in urine |
Prevalence of JAK2 mutations in polycytheamia rubra vera | 97% |
Prevalence of JAK2 mutations in essential thrombocytosis and primary myelofibrosis | 50% |
Howell-Jolly body | Basophilic nuclear remnants in RBC. Splenic dysfunction (splenectomy, Coeliac disease, trauma, sickle cell anaemia, haemolytic anaemia, hereditary sphero, MDS) |
Coombs test | Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia |
Heinz body | Small inclusions in RBC - chronic liver disease, NAPDH deficiency, G6PDH deficiency, alpha thal) |
Massive splenomegaly | Myelofibrosis |
Bence Jones Proteins on serum electrophoresis | Multiple myeloma |
Death in patients with impaired white cell function | Gram negative septicaemia |