Pathology Student

How to tell apart myeloblasts and lymphoblasts

Q. Can you tell me the morphological features of AML M0 and M1 blasts versus ALL blasts to differentiate the two? (more…)

Marfan syndrome, my uncle, and Abraham Lincoln

I have an uncle with Marfan syndrome, and he was kind enough to let me take a couple photos to show some little hand tests you can do to check for Marfan syndrome. (more…)

A 59 year-old male with a 4 cm cerebral mass

A 59 year-old male presents with severe headaches and fatigue of several months’ duration. A 4 cm, poorly-defined, necrotic left cerebral mass is found on CT and is subsequently biopsied.
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Embolus vs. thrombus

Here are a few very good questions about CNS infarcts. There are two types of CNS infarcts: red (hemorrhagic) and pale (ischemic). (more…)

A 67 year-old female with fatigue and splenomegaly

A 67 year-old female presents with fatigue and marked splenomegaly. After further workup, a bone marrow biopsy is performed, and cytogenetic analysis of the aspirate reveals a Jak-2 mutation. Her blood smear is shown here.

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How do heparin and Coumadin affect the coagulation cascade?

Q. I have a question about the coagulation lab tests. I saw that an increased PT would result from Coumadin and Heparin. (more…)

A 72 year-old male with a deep calf mass

A 72 year-old male presents with an ill-defined, deep-seated mass in his right calf. It has grown appreciably in the past few months and is now roughly the size of a golf ball. A core biopsy is performed, and a representative section is shown here.
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