metaplastic anemia
A patient's blood smear shows abnormal cells indicative of metaplastic anemia.
Noun: A specific type of pernicious anemia characterized by abnormal changes in the morphology and development of the various formed elements (cells) in the blood. This condition involves a defective maturation process in the bone marrow, leading to the production of misshapen and immature blood cells.
This is a technical medical term used primarily in hematology (the study of blood) and clinical diagnostics. * The patient's blood smear showed abnormal, immature red blood cells, consistent with a diagnosis of metaplastic anemia. * Metaplastic anemia is distinguished from other anemias by the presence of altered cellular forms in the peripheral blood.
The term is often used in differential diagnosis to specify the nature of the blood cell abnormality. * The hematologist noted that the metaplastic anemia was refractory to standard vitamin B12 therapy, indicating a more complex marrow dysfunction.
- Metaplasia (noun): The abnormal transformation of one differentiated cell type into another; the root pathological process implied in "metaplastic anemia."
- Pernicious Anemia (noun): A broader category of anemia, often due to vitamin B12 deficiency, under which metaplastic anemia is a specific type characterized by cellular changes.
- Megaloblastic anemia (in some specific contexts where abnormal, large precursor cells are present, though not all metaplastic anemias are megaloblastic).
- Refractory anemia with cellular dysplasia (a more modern descriptive term that may overlap in meaning).
- To diagnose metaplastic anemia: To identify the condition through laboratory tests.
- A case of metaplastic anemia: An instance of this specific disorder.
- Signs of metaplastic anemia: The clinical and laboratory indicators of the disease.
A patient's blood smear shows abnormal cells indicative of metaplastic anemia.
- pernicious anemia in which the various formed elements in the blood are changed