10-01-2007, 02:52 AM
4.) A 4-year-old girl is brought to the physician because of pallor
and jaundice for 2 days. She had previously been well, although she was
treated for jaundice with phototherapy for 2 weeks while a newborn.
Her mother and two additional maternal relatives underwent splenectomy
during childhood for unknown reasons. Examination of the patient shows
jaundice. The spleen tip is palpated 4 cm below the left costal margin.
Which of the following blood smear findings is most likely to explain this
family's condition ?
A) Elliptocytes
B) Howell-Jolly bodies
C) Schistocytes
D) Sickle cells
E) Spherocytes
and jaundice for 2 days. She had previously been well, although she was
treated for jaundice with phototherapy for 2 weeks while a newborn.
Her mother and two additional maternal relatives underwent splenectomy
during childhood for unknown reasons. Examination of the patient shows
jaundice. The spleen tip is palpated 4 cm below the left costal margin.
Which of the following blood smear findings is most likely to explain this
family's condition ?
A) Elliptocytes
B) Howell-Jolly bodies
C) Schistocytes
D) Sickle cells
E) Spherocytes