r/medlabprofessionals • u/RampagingElks • 11d ago
Technical Vet Med - encapsulated platelets?
Every so often, I will do a blood smear, and find these "encapsulated" platelets. I thought giant platelets were the immature baby platelets? And then those break apart further.
What are these encapsulated looking ones? Do I count them?
This dog had slightly low platelets on CBC. No clumping, and no clumping in feathered edge, but had a few of these encapsulated looking ones and only the rare giant. Pretty normal otherwise.
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u/Ramin11 MLS 11d ago
Those are slightly hypogranular platelets. Perfectly normal unless almost all of them are like that. Its not a capsule, ehat youre seeing is the cell membrane of a non reactive plt due to few granules.
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u/RampagingElks 11d ago
Interesting, we were told platelets didn't have a cell membrane? They were just these. Fuzzy chunks that break apart. I don't see these very often! Thanks.
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u/Ramin11 MLS 11d ago
Whoever told you that has no idea what theyre talking about. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Platelet-structure-Platelets-have-multiple-surface-receptors-a-cannalicular-system_fig2_263095959
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u/RampagingElks 11d ago
Thanks for the link!
I actually saved quite a few PowerPoints from school and I found I did save my hematology one. It says platelets are cytoplasmic fragments that look like "cotton balls" amongst the blood cells with no specific shape. There is no mention of a cell membrane otherwise. This is why I've always been confused when I see these hypogranular ones.
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u/Ramin11 MLS 11d ago
They are "fragments" of megakaryocytes. They normally bud off of mature megakaryocytes, closing off the cell membrane as they do so. Without a cell membrane of some sort, they simply couldnt hold their structure/shape. I'm surprised this wasn't covered for you as it's pretty basic when talking about cells and cell formation.
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u/RampagingElks 11d ago
Well, it's a 4 year course squished into 2, and we have to learn blood, cytology, chemistries, sample prep, animal handling, nutrition, radiographs, etc.... so unfortunately, it's kinda just the bare bones of information needed. 🫠
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u/Ramin11 MLS 10d ago
Understandable, but still oof. I wish they wouldnt try to condense some programs down so much:/ just makes it more work and stress on the students and harder to get and retain the info you need
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u/RampagingElks 10d ago
Oh, definately. I guess one of the reasons the vet tech program is condensed so much, is that the wage disparity is so bad the government decided we can't afford a 4 year loan. Vet technologists is a 3 year course that's hard to find, and technician is 2, which isore common.
I mean, on one hand it's super fun to be able to do everything but the surgeries themselves. But also, holy cow it's a ton of work and information.
I do have a special interest in cytology and lab, and I can do a VTS, or vet tech specialty, which I may persue. But... There's also a VTS in cats and diagnostic imaging.... But I do love cytology hehe.
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u/CurrentScallion3321 10d ago
This is not a you thing, it’s a me thing but as a platelet researcher, I shed tears knowing that these little guys are still taught as “cytoplasmic fragments”, and not the wonderful little multitaskers they are 😭
Some fun facts; only mammals have anucleated platelets, the lungs help produce platelets by shredding megakaryocytes that migrate into the blood, they can produce insane amounts of specific proteins without a nucleus and they carry nearly all of the bodies peripheral serotonin stores (~99%!) 🧪
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u/OddBug0 11d ago
Not a vet nor med tech. Those looks like spherocytes.
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u/Aromatic-Lead-3252 SH 11d ago
No spherocytes in this image. Spherocytes are smaller in diameter, richer in red color, and lack central parlor. There are cells in this image that have central pallor which also are smaller in diameter than the others. What you're seeing is artifact due to this photo being taken closer to the end of the feathered edge.
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u/OddBug0 9d ago
I remember some one mentioning this artifact occurring near the edge. Are more important findings found on the edge that dont involve rbcs?
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u/Aromatic-Lead-3252 SH 9d ago
Important findings as in disease states? Not that I recall.
In this part of the feathered edge, I usually encourage my students to do a once-over for platelet clumping but nothing else. Differentials & estimates are done further in, where RBCs aren't overlapping but still maintain their morphology. The very end is where WBCs are broken up & become uncountable stroma.
The platelet clumping I refer to is also almost always artifact as well due to poor anticoagulation at collection. If platelets are sequestered in clumps, the analyzer will count them as WBCs & the platelet count will be wrong. Platelet clumping is VERY common in felines.
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u/sad_white_drizzles 11d ago
They look like normal, maybe hypogranular platelets to me. But I only deal with humans now days so maybe I'm missing something.