by Robert McLay and John Krause
Anemia is a decrease in the number of circulating red blood cells or in the overall hemoglobin concentration of the blood. It can cause symptoms of weakness, fatigue, dizziness, syncope, angina, pallor, orthostatic hypotension, or angina. Lab tests can show decrease in hemoglobin and hematocrit.
Anemias can be classified according to red cell morphology and by pathophysiologic mechanism. Morphological classifications include those based on size (MCV, mean corpuscular volume), and coloration by hemoglobin (MCHC, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration). Terms describing size include normocytic, macrocytic, or microcytic, meaning that the erythrocytes are normal, large, or small in size, respectively. Hemoglobin content can be normal (normochromic) or low (hypochromic). Mechanisms of anemia include blood loss, increased red cell destruction (hemolytic anemia), impaired red cell formation, splenic pooling and sequestration, or increased plasma volume.
Some examples of abnormal red cell morphologies can be seen here. Links to descriptions and images of some particular types of anemia are given below.
If you need more information, the best place on the internet to search is usually the National Library of Medicine.
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by Robert McLay and John Krause