A6. Miscellaneous red cell abnormalities
Splenectomy
Post-splenectomy blood films show the following features: target cells, acanthocytes, spherocytes, nucleated red cells, Howell-Jolly bodies, Pappenheimer bodies and Heinz bodies. This presence of intracellular remnants within the red cells attests to the culling or pitting function of the spleen. The spleen is also responsible for the surface remodelling of red cells, that is, it removes surplus membrane from red cells such as target cells that have an increased ratio of surface area to volume—hence the appearance of target cells in the first weeks following splenectomy. Refer to Figure A6-1, Figure A6-2, Figure A6-3 and Figure A6-4.
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| Figure A6-1 |
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Figure A6-2
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