For a pictorial review of this tutorial, click here In honor of Dr. @AmeetRKini's anemia lecture today, I thought I'd share a little #hemebytes #micromeded #twitterhomework #tweetorial Let's first look at the CBC RBC indices!     Why are immature RBCs more polychromatic? Well, here is a review of RBC maturation. As you can see, after the RBC loses its nucleus, the cytoplasm remains more basophilic due to higher levels of ribosomal RNA which looks more purple on the Giemsa stain —> Now, there is another little index on the CBC that no one really talks about (probably because ther ..read more

For a pictorial PDF summary of this tutorial, click here! For this week’s #MicroMedEd, I will be trying something new as suggested by @smlungpathguy. Let's explore serum protein electrophoresis. #HemeBytes #Tweetorial Most people will order the #SPEP to examine the cause of an elevated protein/gamma gap (Total Protein – Albumin > 4). So, why would the gamma gap be elevated? First, you have to know the proteins... what is the major protein in the serum? Albumin! Well… What is a group of proteins that has been on everyone’s mind recently with #COVID19? ANTIBODIES! How are #antibodies made? B ..read more

MicroMedEd Homepage Hello all, If you follow this blog, you have noticed it has been a little quiet. I have been busy working on some educational and academic projects as well as completing my pre-clinical training. I am excited to get back to posting #micromeded content more regularly, but I will not be able to do so until after June. Until then, look out for posts on Instagram and Twitter that are #micromeded adjacent or #meded related. Here are some of the projects I have been involved in recently. I hope you enjoy exploring these works! Ace The Boards: Non-neoplastic hematology and hemo ..read more

MicroMedEd Homepage I have been taking some time off from the #micromeded project since I am gearing up for studying for Step 1, but I have also been busy working on this amazing project with AceMyPath. This figure is just one of the high-yield images that will be included in the Ace The Boards: Non-neoplastic Hematology and Coagulation review book. Check out the AceMyPath website and make sure to keep your eye out for this amazing addition to their review series. Created with BioRender.com ..read more

MicroMedEd Homepage This week in #micromeded, we are going to talk about electromagnetic radiation. Everything we see is really reflections of electromagnetic radiation (visible light), but there is a lot more that we don’t see, and some of those forms of radiation can affect or cells, but can also be harnessed in sterilization and therapy. Just north of visible light is a spectrum called ultraviolet light (aka UV). UV light, when generated at a certain wavelength, can lead to the termination of a cell’s ability to reproduce or divide. This type of UV light is used in PCR benches to prevent c ..read more

MicroMedEd Homepage This week in #micromeded, we will explore iron transport throughout the body and how it is affected during inflammation/infection. Iron is an essential ion in both humans and microbes, and iron transport and iron sequestration are means by which the body can prevent the growth of microbes during an infection. However, inflammation triggers the same pathway, so in cases of chronic inflammation, hepcidin can be activated to limit free iron in the body. This can lead to a state of anemia—aptly called anemia of chronic disease. Microbes can synthesize small molecules collectiv ..read more

MicroMedEd Homepage This week's #micromeded is all about the vaginal microbiota—suggested by @nmcodispoti. This post is meant to specifically investigate the protective role of the vaginal microbiota against invading pathogens. The vaginal flora is mainly composed of Lactobacilli who secrete lactic acid and bacteriocin to lower the pH and prevent colonization by other bacteria or pathogens by disfavoring their growth conditions. Some of the pathogens that can take over the vaginal mucosa if the Lactobacilli are not present (i.e.: after treatment with antibiotics) or if the pathogen is inocula ..read more

MicroMedEd Homepage This week's #micromeded is all about one of the GI tract's first defenses against pathogens. Because of the low pH, most pathogens cannot survive in the stomach. In this figure, I depict two ways pathogens evade this host defense. The first mechanism in this chart is H. pyroli which, through the production of urease, splits urea into NH4+ and CO2. This creates a locally tolerable environment for the bacteria. This is how the bacterium is able to survive and cause disease! The presence of H. pylori can be tested with the urea breath test (UBT). After ingestion of radiolabel ..read more

MicroMedEd Homepage Vaccines are the single greatest advance in the history of public health interventions. Their efficacy and safety have been demonstrated again and again, and as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, the latest prospect of a vaccine offers a glimmer of hope that the end of the pandemic could be approaching—especially for those working on the frontlines. In this figure, we explore the various types of vaccines we currently have in use and their immunologic effect. Starting with the killed/inactivated vaccines: these vaccines are very effective and easy to produce. Additionally, th ..read more

Here's a short diagram of some of the common dimorphic fungi in host tissue. In this image, we see Coccidioides immitis, Sporothrix schenckii, and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Of these, Coccidioides is the only non-thermally dimorphic fungus (i.e.: the dimorphism is not due to the change in temperature--see former #micromeded post on fungal dimorphism) and Sporothrix is the only dimorphic fungus to typically infect only the skin and soft tissue. Paracoccidioides is similar to the other dimorphic fungi (Blastomyces, Histoplasma) in that it is thermally dimorphic and causes systemic disease ..read more