Hematology
Hematology (BE: haematology) is the branch of internal medicine and pediatrics that is concerned with blood, the blood-forming organs and blood diseases. Hematology includes the study of etiology, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and prevention of blood diseases.
Blood diseases affect the production of blood and its components, such as blood cells, hemoglobin, blood proteins, the mechanism of coagulation, etc.
Contents
Hematologists
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 hematology test results, care of in-patients and care of out-patients.
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
Hematology as basic medical science
- Blood
- Red blood cells
- Reticuloendothelial system
- Lymphatic system
- Blood transfusion
- Haemostasis
- Complement system
Classification of hematology diseases
- Hemoglobinopathies (congenital abnormality of the hemoglobin molecule or of the rate of hemoglobin synthesis)
- Anemias (lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin)
- Iron deficiency anemia
- Megaloblastic anemia
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
- Folate deficiency
- Hemolytic anemias (destruction of red blood cells)
- Genetic disorders of RBC membrane
- Genetic disorders of RBC metabolism
- Immune mediated hemolytic anaemia (direct Coombs test is positive)
- Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
- Warm antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia
- Idiopathic
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
- Evans' syndrome (antiplatelet antibodies and haemolytic antibodies)
- Cold antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia
- Warm antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia
- Alloimmune hemolytic anemia
- Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN)
- Rh disease (Rh D)
- ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn
- Anti-Kell hemolytic disease of the newborn
- Rhesus c hemolytic disease of the newborn
- Other blood group incompatibility (RhC, Rhe, RhE, Kid, Duffy, MN, P and others)
- Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN)
- Drug induced immune mediated hemolytic anaemia
- Penicillin (high dose)
- Methyldopa
- Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
- Hemoglobinopathies (where these is an unstable or crystaline hemoglobin)
- Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (rare acquired clonal disorder of red blood cell surface protiens)
- Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia
- Aplastic anemia
- Decreased numbers of cells
- Myelodysplastic syndrome
- Myelofibrosis
- Neutropenia (decrease in the number of neutrophils)
- Agranulocytosis
- Glanzmann's thrombasthenia
- Thrombocytopenia (decrease in the number of platelets)
- Myeloproliferative disorders (Increased numbers of cells)
- Polycythemia vera (increase in the number of cells in general)
- Leukocytosis (increase in the number of white blood cells)
- Thrombocytosis (increase in the number of platelets)
- Myeloproliferative disorder
- Hematological malignancies
- Coagulopathies (disorders of bleeding and coagulation)
- Thrombocytosis
- Recurrent thrombosis
- Disseminated intravascular coagulation
- Disorders of clotting proteins
- Disorders of platelets
- Miscellaneous
- Haemotological changes secondary to non-haemotological disorders
Tests
Tests used in the investigation of haematological problems include:
- Full blood counts
- ESR
- Blood films
- Bone marrow biopsies
- Coombs test
- serum Ferritin level
- Vitamin B12 and Folate levels
- Prothrombin time
- Partial thromboplastin time
- Protein electrophoresis
- Hemoglobin electrophoresis
- D-dimer
Treatments
Treatments include:
- Diet advice
- Oral medication - tablets or liquid medicines
- Anticoagulation therapy
- Intramuscular injections (for example, Vitamin B12 injections)
- Blood transfusion (for anemia)
- Venesection (for iron overload or polycythemia)
- Bone marrow transplant (for example, for leukemia)
- Chemotherapy (for example, for leukemia)
- Radiotherapy (in decline, for example, for leukemia)
Alphabetical lists
External links
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