Ch5 - 1) Anemia Flashcards
What is Anemia?
Reduction in circulating red blood cell (RBC) mass
What does anemia present with?
signs and symptoms of hypoxia; 1. Weakness, fatigue, and dyspnea 2. Pale conjunctiva and skin 3. Headache and lightheadedness 4. Angina, especially with preexisting coronary artery disease
How is RBC mass measured?
Hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), and RBC count are used as surrogates for RBC mass, which is difficult to measure
Anemia is defined as what (in terms of Hb)?
Hb<12.5 g/dL in females (normal Hb is 13.5-17.5 g/dL in males and 12.5-16.0 g/dl. in females)
What is the basis for anemia classification?
Based on mean corpuscular volume (MCV), anemia can be classified as microcytic (MCV 100)
What does the MCV give you an indication of in anemia?
size of the red blood cell
Microcytic anemias are due to
decreased production of hemoglobin.
RBC progenitor cells in the bone marrow are?
large and normally divide multiple times to produce smaller mature cells (MCV = 80-100)
Microcytosis is due to?
an “extra” division which occurs to maintain hemoglobin concentration.
Hemoglobin is made of
heme and globin:
heme is composed of?
iron and protoporphyrin
A decrease in what components leads to microcytic anemia?
iron, protoporphyrin and globin
