Which term is used to describe a Bullseye cell?

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Multiple Choice

Which term is used to describe a Bullseye cell?

Recognizing the bullseye appearance on a red blood cell smear and knowing it’s called a target cell. A target cell shows a central dark area of hemoglobin, a lighter clear zone, and a thicker peripheral ring of hemoglobin, producing a bullseye or codocyte look. This morphology arises from an increased surface area-to-volume ratio or altered cell membrane composition, and it appears in conditions such as thalassemias, liver disease, asplenia, and certain hemoglobinopathies like HbC disease. That distinctive bullseye pattern is why the term used is target cell. The other terms refer to different shapes: a sickle cell is crescent or sickle-shaped due to polymerized hemoglobin under low oxygen; fragmented red cells (schistocytes) come from mechanical destruction and look jagged or helmet-shaped; and elliptical cells are elongated, seen in conditions like hereditary elliptocytosis or iron deficiency.

Recognizing the bullseye appearance on a red blood cell smear and knowing it’s called a target cell. A target cell shows a central dark area of hemoglobin, a lighter clear zone, and a thicker peripheral ring of hemoglobin, producing a bullseye or codocyte look. This morphology arises from an increased surface area-to-volume ratio or altered cell membrane composition, and it appears in conditions such as thalassemias, liver disease, asplenia, and certain hemoglobinopathies like HbC disease.

That distinctive bullseye pattern is why the term used is target cell. The other terms refer to different shapes: a sickle cell is crescent or sickle-shaped due to polymerized hemoglobin under low oxygen; fragmented red cells (schistocytes) come from mechanical destruction and look jagged or helmet-shaped; and elliptical cells are elongated, seen in conditions like hereditary elliptocytosis or iron deficiency.

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