Red Blood Cell Morphology

All of the nerve and muscle cells in the body all need oxygen in order to survive and function. When these cells are deprived of oxygen to even a small degree, by the ischemic process, painful muscular and neurological symptoms can and will result.

At low levels of oxygen deprivation, the nerve cells in a regional area begin to lose their ability to function correctly. Instead of a clear nerve signal, the nerves produce pain and other neurological symptoms.

At higher levels of oxygen deprivation, the muscles will also become affected, causing widespread pain and even the shear agony of neuralgic spasms.

Millions of times during their four-month lifespan, human red blood cells must squeeze through tiny capillaries to deliver their payload of oxygen and pick up waste carbon dioxide-functions essential to life.

Deformed, infected, hemoglobin deficient and exposure to inflammatory cytokines and chemokines renders red blood cells incapable of proper oxygen transport.

Parameters including red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin concentration (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) are important indicators of the shape and function of red blood cells beyond microcytic and macrocytic. The Red Blood Cell Morphology - A Guide to Erythrocyte Shapes provided guidelines to CBC markers that do not fit the standard anemia patterns.