New York State Department of Health - Wadsworth Center - Cytohematology Proficiency Testing

Slide 143 [100X]        Click here for a higher resolution image.

An echinocyte is a "crenated red cell, with evenly distributed, rounded, short "goose bumps" on the surface, seen most often when anticoagulated blood is smeared after standing for some hours" (Miale, J B: Laboratory Medicine Hematology 6th ed., CV Mosby Co.,1982, p.478). Echinocytes or burr cells may also be found in association with uremia and pyruvate kinase deficiency and in neonates with liver disease (Powers, LW: Diagnostic Hematology, CV Mosby Co, 1989, p.198). Acanthocytes are red blood cells with a few irregular projections that vary in width, length and distribution on the cell surface. Acanthocytes are smaller than normal red cells and (unlike echinocytes) lack a central pallor.

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