SUMMARY Print Section Listen SUMMARY Abnormalities of platelet function manifest themselves primarily as excessive hemorrhage at mucocutaneous sites, with ecchymoses, petechiae, epistaxis, gingival hemorrhage, and menorrhagia most common. Both quantitative…
SUMMARY Print Section Listen SUMMARY Thrombocytopenia is one of the most frequent causes for hematologic consultation in the practice of medicine and may be life threatening. Although the normal platelet…
SUMMARY Print Section Listen SUMMARY Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a prothrombotic complication of treatment with heparin. It is associated with mild-to-moderate thrombocytopenia, although the main clinical concern is the high…
SUMMARY Print Section Listen SUMMARY The blood coagulation system, like a powerful idling engine, is always active and generating thrombin at very low levels, poised for explosive thrombin generation. Positive…
SUMMARY Print Section Listen SUMMARY Blood vessels, especially their endothelial lining, play a critical role in the maintenance of vascular fluidity, arrest of hemorrhage (hemostasis), prevention of occlusive vascular phenomena…
SUMMARY Print Section Listen SUMMARY Each day the adult human produces approximately 1 × 1011 platelets, a level of production that can increase 10- to 20-fold in times of increased…
SUMMARY Print Section Listen SUMMARY Evaluation of a hemostatic disorder is commonly initiated when (1) a patient or referring physician suspects a bleeding tendency, (2) a bleeding tendency is discovered…
SUMMARY Print Section Listen SUMMARY The three major pathophysiologic causes of thrombocytosis are (1) clonal, including essential (or primary) thrombocythemia and other myeloproliferative neoplasms; (2) familial, including rare cases of…
Plasma Cell Disorders Tomer M. Mark, MD Geraldine P. Schechter, MD, MACP Plasma cells are terminally differentiated B cells responsible for immunoglobulin production. Plasma cell disorders represent a group of…
Lymphoproliferative Disorders Elizabeth Margolskee, MD, MPH Peter Martin, MD The diagnosis and classification of lymphoid tumors is a multistep process involving integration of clinical, morphologic, phenotypic, and molecular data. The…
