Megalocyte

Megalocytes , sometimes also referred to as gigantocytes , are red blood cells (erythrocytes), which differ from the size and the round and inwardly curved shape of healthy erythrocytes, have a diameter of significantly more than nine micrometers , an oval shape and a uniform thickness without central lightening have a microscopic blood smear . In addition, they are often hyperchromic, i.e. more strongly colored than normal erythrocytes.

Megalocytes occur almost exclusively in megaloblastic anemia as a result of a lack of cobalamines or folic acid or disorders of the absorption of these substances. In hematological diagnostics, they lead to a right shift in the Price-Jones curve , which describes the size distribution of the erythrocytes.

literature

• F. Aslinia, JJ Mazza, SH Yale: Megaloblastic Anemia and Other Causes of Macrocytosis. In: Clinical Medicine & Research. 4 (3) / 2006. Marshfield Clinic, pp. 236-241, ISSN  1539-4182
• SN Wickramasinghe: Diagnosis of Megaloblastic Anaemias. In: Blood Reviews . 20 (6) / 2006. Churchill Livingstone, pp. 299-318, ISSN  0268-960X

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