Introduction to Haematology

What are the 3 types of blood cell that normal peripheral blood is composed of?

What proportions of the blood do cells and plasma constitute, respectively?

What are some effects resulting from the proportion of blood cells to plasma being disrupted?

What is the term for the production of blood cells?

What are the individual terms for the production of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets?

What is the lifespan of an erythrocyte?

If blood cells do not last forever, why do we not always become ill as a result of their loss?

What is the total blood volume of the average 70kg male? Around how many erythrocytes are in this amount?

Where does haematopoiesis take place in infants and adults?

Where does haematopoiesis occur in foetuses?

In which type of bone marrow does haematopoiesis occur? What is the other type?

Under what circumstances might inactive, fatty yellow marrow be activated for haematopoiesis?

Haematopoietic stem cells are pluripotent. What does this mean?

Under the influence of particular cytokines (hormones/growth factors), what two types of cell does the haematopoietic stem cell initially differentiate into?

What three types of cells can the common lymphoid progenitor differentiate into?

What three types of cell can the common myeloid progenitor differentiate into?

What types of lymphocyte can a granulocyte-monocyte progenitor differentiate into?

What type of cell can a megakaryoblast progenitor differentiate into?

What are the differentiation steps between the erythroid progenitor and the erythrocyte?

What are the differentiation steps between the granulocyte progenitor and neutrophils, basophils and eosinophils?

Is differentiation a bidirectional process?

What is the term for young erythrocytes?

Describe the feedback loop that maintains the circulating erythrocyte count within narrow limits.

When erythropoietin acts on erythroid progenitors, what effects does it have?

In adults, which bones does haematopoiesis occur in?

Does erythropoietin production stop when tissue hypoxia is reduced/stopped?

How does erythropoietin exert effects on erythrocyte progenitors?

What type of blood cell is the most numerous in the blood?

Where are erythrocytes sequestered?

What shape and size are erythrocytes?

What are two significant benefits of the shape of erythrocytes?

What is the primary function of erythrocytes and what pigment primarily carries this out?

Where does the assembly of the haem of haemoglobin occur?

What is haemoglobin?

What is the difference in the globin chains between a foetus and an adult?

What is the main function of leukocytes?

How many leukocytes does the average person have?

Which two types of leukocyte are mononuclear cells?

Which three types of leukocyte are granulocytes (polymorphonuclear cells)?

List the types of leukocytes in decreasing order of frequency.

Roughly what percentage of circulating leukocytes do neutrophils make up in adults?

Describe a feature of the nucleus of a neutrophil.

Why is a neutrophil categorised as a granulocyte?

What is a granule?

What is the lifespan of a neutrophil, and what might increase it slightly?

What is the main function of neutrophils?

Roughly what percentage of leukocytes do eosinophils account for?

Which dyes stain eosinophil granules strongly?

Describe a feature of an eosinophil nucleus.

What is the average lifespan of an eosinophil?

What size (qualitatively, not quantitatively) are eosinophil granules?

What are the two main functions of eosinophils?

How do eosinophils function differently with small and large parasites?

Given their function, name two locations in which eosinophils are particularly frequent.

Why are higher levels of eosinophils found in individuals from developing countries?

Tissue eosinophils respond to bacterial and fungal infections similarly to which other type of leukocyte?

Roughly what percentage of leukocytes do basophils constitute?

The large cytoplasmic granules of basophils stain strongly with what dye?

What is the main function of basophils?

What small chemical compound do basophils contain in their granules?

Roughly what proportion of leukocytes do monocytes constitute?

Qualitatively and quantitatively, what size are monocytes?

Describe a distinct feature of the nuclei of monocytes.

What is the lifespan of an average monocyte?

Describe the granules of monocytes.

Once monocytes exit to the tissues, what do they mature into?

List some of the functions of a monocyte.

Go through the process of phagocytosis.

Roughly what proportion of leukocytes do lymphocytes constitute?

What size are leukocytes?

Describe a distinct feature of the nuclei of lymphocytes.

Describe the lifespan of lymphocytes.

Receptors on the surface of lymphocytes recognise what part of foreign bodies?

Where do B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes develop, respectively?

What are the relative proportions of B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes of blood lymphocytes?

What are T lymphocytes responsible for?

What are B lymphocytes responsible for?

What are the two divisions of B lymphocytes and what do they do?

How do B cells function in the immune response?

What is the function of a T helper cell?

What do T cytotoxic/killer T cells do?

What is the function of T regulatory cells?

What are natural killer cells and roughly what proportion of blood lymphocytes do they constitute?

What is the function of natural killer cells and what do they primarily target?

Roughly how many thrombocytes (platelets) does the average human have?

What size are thrombocytes?

Describe a distinct feature of the nucleus of thrombocytes.

What is the lifespan of the average thrombocyte?

What is the main function of thrombocytes?

What proportion of the total blood volume does plasma constitute?

What is plasma?

Comment on the composition and balance of plasma electrolytes.

Define normality, in the context of health.

Define abnormality, in the context of health.

Why can't wellness be used to define normality in health?

Why can't healthy be used to define the absence of disease?

What are reference ranges and how are they derived and used?

List some examples of factors affecting measurements in pathology.