Connect Sign InA manual examination of cellular morphology on a stained peripheral blood smear is still an important, and increasingly "lost" skill, useful in the evaluation of a patient with a hematologic abnormality. This session provides helpful hints to aid the review of blood smears by describing staining properties of various cells and cellular structures, discussing morphologic features that distinguish mature and immature leukocytes, and suggesting strategies to differentiate morphologic look-alikes.
Originally published on November 3, 2026.
Lecture Presenter
Karen A. Brown has focused her efforts at the University of Utah and ARUP in the areas of education and service. She is a former program director and current adjunct professor in the Department of Pathology’s Medical Laboratory Sciences Division. She has extensive experience presenting workshops in the areas of hematology and phlebotomy. She has also had the privilege of teaching hematology and phlebotomy to clinical laboratorians and other healthcare professionals in Africa, South America, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates. Ms. Brown has volunteer experience in leadership positions for professional organizations and continues to be actively engaged as a member of numerous boards and committees.
Objectives
After this presentation, participants will be able to:- Describe the staining properties of the following cell structures (Wright stain): nucleus, nucleolus, cytoplasm, mitochondria, Golgi body, and RNA-containing organelles
- Discuss morphologic features that identify mature and immature leukocytes
- Develop strategies for distinguishing morphologic look-alikes, such as blasts from various lymphocytes, reactive lymphocytes and monocytes, segmented neutrophils and bands or hyposegmented cells, and selected erythrocyte shape variations
Sponsored by:
Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, Department of Pathology, and ARUP Laboratories