Intro4u2u

haematology /%hi;m@”tQl@dZi/ (US hematology)
· n. the study of the physiology of the blood.
– DERIVATIVES haematologic adj. haematological adj. haematologist n.

Hematology (American English) or haematology (British English) is the branch of biology (physiology), pathology, clinical laboratory, internal medicine, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases. Hematology includes the study of etiology, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and prevention of blood diseases. The lab work that goes into the study of blood is performed by a Medical Technologist.

Blood diseases affect the production of blood and its components, such as blood cells, haemoglobin, blood proteins, the mechanism of coagulation, etc.

Medical doctors who work in hematology are known as hematologists. Their routine work may range from the management of the hematology laboratory, work at the microscope viewing blood films and bone marrow slides, interpretation of various hematological test results, care of in-patients and care of out-patients. Hematologists who work in laboratories are referred to as “hematopathologists”, whereas specialists in the treatment of hematologic diseases are called “hematologist/oncologists”.

Hematologists may specialise further or have special interests, for example in:

* treating bleeding disorders such as hemophilia
* treating hematological malignacies such as lymphoma and leukemia (onco hematology)
* treating hemoglobinopathies
* in the science of blood transfusion and the work of a blood bank

(Hema- comes from the Greek word “`’aima” meaning “blood”, -logy comes from the Greek “logos” meaning word. [referring to the first root word, as in biology, with bio- meaning life and, of course
* Hemoglobinopathies (congenital abnormality of the hemoglobin molecule or of the rate of hemoglobin synthesis)
o Sickle-cell disease
o Thalassemia
o Methemoglobinemia
* Anemias (lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin)
o Iron deficiency anemia
o Megaloblastic anemia
+ Vitamin B12 deficiency
# Pernicious anemia
+ Folate deficiency
o Hemolytic anemias (destruction of red blood cells)
+ Genetic disorders of RBC membrane
# Hereditary spherocytosis
# Hereditary elliptocytosis
+ Genetic disorders of RBC metabolism
# Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD)
# Pyruvate kinase deficiency
+ Immune mediated hemolytic anaemia (direct Coombs test is positive)
# Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
* Warm antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia
o Idiopathic
o Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
o Evans’ syndrome (antiplatelet antibodies and haemolytic antibodies)
* Cold antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia
o Idiopathic cold hemagglutinin syndrome
o Infectious mononucleosis
o Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (rare)
# Alloimmune hemolytic anemia
* Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN)
o Rh disease (Rh D)
o ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn
o Anti-Kell hemolytic disease of the newborn
o Rhesus c hemolytic disease of the newborn
o Other blood group incompatibility (RhC, Rhe, RhE, Kid, Duffy, MN, P and others)
# Drug induced immune mediated hemolytic anaemia
* Penicillin (high dose)
* Methyldopa
+ Hemoglobinopathies (where these is an unstable or crystalline hemoglobin)
+ Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (rare acquired clonal disorder of red blood cell surface proteins)
+ Direct physical damage to RBCs
# Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia
# Secondary to artificial heart valve(s)
o Aplastic anemia
+ Fanconi anemia
+ Diamond-Blackfan anemia
+ Acquired pure red cell aplasia
* Decreased numbers of cells
o Myelodysplastic syndrome
o Myelofibrosis
o Neutropenia (decrease in the number of neutrophils)
o Agranulocytosis
o Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia
o Thrombocytopenia (decrease in the number of platelets)
+ Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
+ Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
+ Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT)
* Myeloproliferative disorders (Increased numbers of cells)
o Polycythemia vera (increase in the number of cells in general)
o Leukocytosis (increase in the number of white blood cells)
o Thrombocytosis (increase in the number of platelets)
o Myeloproliferative disorder
* Hematological malignancies
o Lymphomas
+ Hodgkin’s disease
+ Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
+ Burkitt’s lymphoma
+ Anaplastic large cell lymphoma
+ Splenic marginal zone lymphoma
+ Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma
+ Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AILT)
o Myelomas
+ Multiple myeloma
+ Waldenström macroglobulinemia
o Plasmacytoma
o Leukemias
+ Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
+ Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
+ Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)
+ Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)
+ T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL)
+ Chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL)
+ Hairy cell leukemia (HCL)
+ T-cell large granular lymphocyte leukemia (T-LGL)
+ Aggressive NK-cell leukemia
* Coagulopathies (disorders of bleeding and coagulation)
o Thrombocytosis
o Recurrent thrombosis
o Disseminated intravascular coagulation
o Disorders of clotting proteins
+ Hemophilia
# Hemophilia A
# Hemophilia B (also known as Christmas disease)
# Hemophilia C
+ Von Willebrand disease
+ Disseminated intravascular coagulation
+ Protein S deficiency
+ Antiphospholipid syndrome
o Disorders of platelets
+ Thrombocytopenia
+ Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia
+ Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome
* Miscellaneous
o Haemochromatosis
o Asplenia
o Hypersplenism
+ Gauchers disease
o Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance
* Hematological changes secondary to non-hematological disorders
o Anemia of chronic disease
o Infectious mononucleosis
o AIDS
o Malaria
o Leishmaniasis