Blood Immunology Case Study

Unit 10: Blood/Immunology Case Study Lab

What were your three diagnoses?

1. Case 1: Normal Blood Smear

2. Case 2: Bacterial or Viral Infection

3. Case 3: Normal Blood Smear

Journal Questions for lab

1. In what ways do normal red and white blood cells differ?

Red blood cells do not have nuclei, where whit blood cells do; white blood cells often leave the bloodstream to fight diseases, where RBC’s do not.

2. Which type of white blood cell would you expect to be most common in a normal blood smear?

Neutrophil

3. A differential count of white blood cells from a patient gave the absolute number of lymphocytes as 8000 per mm3 and the total number of white blood cells as 12,000 per mm3. Calculate the percentage of lymphocytes in this sample of white blood cells. Is this a normal or abnormal percentage? Explain your answer.

8000/12000* 100 = 66.67%. Normal values of lymphocytes in blood is 20% - 40%. So yes, it is an abnormal percentage.

4. Describe the difference between a communicable disease and an inherited disease. Use examples you have studied in this exploration to support your description.

A communicable disease is an infectious disease that is transmitted from one individual to another; an inherited disease is a disease passed down through genetics. An example of a communicable disease is mononucleosis, which can be transmitted through an infected person’s saliva with a “clean” person’s saliva; an example of an inherited disease is sickle-cell anemia.

5. Why are white blood cells in a stained blood smear usually counted at low power under a microscope? Explain your answer.

Due to the limited field of vision of microscopes, it is easier to count the number of white blood cells in a stained blood smear under low power than under high magnification.

6. Why is the presence of a larger than normal number of neutrophils indicative of an infection? Explain your answer.

Neutrophils are responsible for destroying infectious agents in the body; so...