Stomatocyte
(Fish Mouth Cell)
Peripheral blood smear, Wright-Giemsa stain, 1000x
Description:
Instead of having the rounded central palor of a normal red cell, a stomatocyte has a centrally located linear slit or stoma (fish mouth) and the MCV is usually increased. On scanning EM, a stomatocyte looks like a ball with a single concavity (cup-shaped).
Pathobiology:
Unlike the echinocyte, stomatocyte formation is due to expansion of the inner leaflet of the lipid bilayer.
Differential diagnosis:
- Normal blood smear (low percentage)
- Alcohol excess- MCV increased in absence of anemia
- Liver disease- macrotarget cells and acanthocytes may also be present
- Hereditary stomatocytosis
- Some subtypes of hereditary spherocytosis
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Charles
E.
Hess,
M.D.,FACP [more information]
Professor of Internal Medicine
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