Hematology

Related Topics:
Hematology :: Hematology_and_Oncology

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.

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

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 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)
  - 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
- Disorders of platelets
Miscellaneous
Haemotological changes secondary to non-haemotological disorders

Tests

Tests used in the investigation of haematological problems include:

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

Blood disorders | Lists of diseases | Hematology | Medicine