Hematology

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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, hemoglobin, blood proteins, the mechanism of coagulation, etc.

1 Hematologists
2 Common basic clinical hematology tests
3 Hematology as basic medical science
4 Classification of hematology diseases
5 Tests
6 Treatments
7 Alphabetical lists
8 External links

[edit] 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 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- means blood in root words, -ology means the study {science} of.[refering to the first root word, as in biology, with bio- meaning life and, of course , -ology meaning the study {or science} of])

[edit] Common basic clinical hematology tests

In a clinical laboratory the hematology department performs numerous different tests on blood. The most commonly performed test is the complete blood count (CBC) also called full blood count (FBC), which includes; white blood cell count, platelet count, hemoglobin level and several parameters of red blood cells. Coagulation is a sub-speciality of hematology; basic general coagulation tests are the prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT). Another common hematology test in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

In a blood bank the Coombs test is the most commonly performed test.

[edit] Hematology as basic medical science

[edit] 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
    - Pernicious anemia
  - Folate deficiency
- 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
        
        Idiopathic
        
        Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
        
        Evans' syndrome (antiplatelet antibodies and haemolytic antibodies)
      - Cold antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia
        
        Idiopathic cold hemagglutinin syndrome
        
        Infectious mononucleosis
        
        Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (rare)
    - 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)
    - 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)
- 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)
  - Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
  - Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
  - Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT)
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
  - Hemophilia
    - Hemophilia A
    - Hemophilia B (also known as Christmas disease)
    - Hemophilia C
  - Von Willebrand disease
  - Disseminated intravascular coagulation
  - Protein S deficiency
  - Antiphospholipid syndrome
- Disorders of platelets
Miscellaneous
Hematological changes secondary to non-hematological disorders

[edit] Tests

Tests used in the investigation of hematological problems include:

[edit] 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)

[edit] Alphabetical lists

[edit] External links

v • d • e

Pathology: hematology

Hematological malignancy and White blood cells
Lymphoid: Lymphocytic leukemia (ALL, CLL, HCL) • Lymphoma (Hodgkin's disease, NHL) • LPD • Myeloma (Multiple myeloma, Extramedullary plasmacytoma)

Myeloid: Myelogenous leukemia (AML, CML) • MPD (Essential thrombocytosis, Polycythemia) • MDS • Myelofibrosis • Neutropenia

Red blood cells
Anemia • Hemochromatosis • Sickle-cell disease • Thalassemia • Hemolysis • Aplastic anemia • G6PD Deficiency • Hereditary spherocytosis • Hereditary elliptocytosis • Other hemoglobinopathies

Coagulation and Platelets
Thrombosis • Deep vein thrombosis • Pulmonary embolism • Hemophilia • ITP • TTP • DIC

v • d • e Transfusion medicine
Apheresis (Plasmapheresis — Plateletpheresis — Leukapheresis) \| Blood transfusion \| Coombs test \| Cross-matching \| Exchange transfusion \| International Society of Blood Transfusion \| Intraoperative blood salvage \| ISBT 128 \| Transfusion reactions
Human blood group systems - Blood type
ABO \| Colton \| Duffy \| Hh \| Kell \| Kidd \| Kx \| Rhesus \|Yt
Blood products
Blood \| Blood donation \| Blood substitutes \| Cryoprecipitate \| Platelets \| Plasma \| Red blood cells