Blood films: pathological cell forms

target cells

Sickle-cell/thalassaemia

Iron-deficiency anaemia

Hyposplenism

Liver disease

'Tear-drop' poikilocytes

Myelofibrosis (chronic blood cancer causing scarring in bone marrow)

Spherocytes (round like a sphere)

Hereditary spherocytosis

Autoimmune hemolytic anaemia

Basophilic stippling

Lead poisoning

Thalassaemia

Sideroblastic anaemia

Myelodysplasia

Howell-Jolly bodies (little purple dot in cells)

Hyposplenism

Heinz bodies (dark purple spots in and out of cells)

G6PD deficiency

Alpha-thalassaemia

Schistocytes ('helmet cells')

Intravascular haemolysis

Mechanical heart valve

Disseminated intravascular coagulation

'Pencil' poikilocytes

Iron deficency anaemia

Burr cells (echinocytes) (spiky blobs - regular)

Uraemia

Pyruvate kinase deficiency

Acanthocytes (spiky blobs - irregular)

Abetalipoproteinemia (when you can’t absorb fats)

hyper segmented neutrophils

megaloblastic anaemia