Hematology

Hematology
SystemHematopoietic system
SubdivisionsTransfusion medicine
Significant diseasesAnemia, leukemia, lymphoma.
Significant testsBlood film, bone marrow biopsy
SpecialistHematologist
Haematologist
Occupation
Names
  • Physician
Occupation type
Specialty
Activity sectors
Medicine
Description
Education required
  • Doctor of Medicine (M.D.)
  • Doctor of Osteopathic medicine (D.O.)
  • Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.)
  • Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
Fields of
employment
Hospitals, Clinics

Hematology (spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood.[1][2] It involves treating diseases that affect the production of blood and its components, such as blood cells, hemoglobin, blood proteins, bone marrow, platelets, blood vessels, spleen, and the mechanism of coagulation. Such diseases might include hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, blood clots (thrombus), other bleeding disorders, and blood cancers such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma.[3] The laboratory analysis of blood is frequently performed by a medical technologist or medical laboratory scientist.

Specialization

Physicians specialized in hematology are known as hematologists or haematologists.[2] Their routine work mainly includes the care and treatment of patients with hematological diseases, although some may also work at the hematology laboratory viewing blood films and bone marrow slides under the microscope, interpreting various hematological test results and blood clotting test results. In some institutions, hematologists also manage the hematology laboratory.[3] Physicians who work in hematology laboratories, and most commonly manage them, are pathologists specialized in the diagnosis of hematological diseases, referred to as hematopathologists or haematopathologists. Hematologists and hematopathologists generally work in conjunction to formulate a diagnosis and deliver the most appropriate therapy if needed. Hematology is a distinct subspecialty of internal medicine, separate from but overlapping with the subspecialty of medical oncology. Hematologists may specialize further or have special interests, for example, in:

  • treating bleeding disorders such as hemophilia and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura,[2] with the latter of these two conditions being continuously studied by hematologists due to its unknown cause.[4]
  • treating hematological malignancies such as lymphoma and leukemia (cancers)
  • treating hemoglobinopathies, including α-thalassemias and β-thalassemias (thalassemia syndromes) and hemoglobin S, hemoglobin C, and hemoglobin E (abnormal hemoglobins).[5]
  • the science of blood transfusion and the work of a blood bank, known as transfusion medicine
  • bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, especially with the use of technologies to extract and isolate hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs).[6]

Training

Starting hematologists (in the US) complete a four-year medical degree followed by three or four more years in residency or internship programs. After completion, they further expand their knowledge by spending two or three more years learning how to experiment, diagnose, and treat blood disorders.[7] Some exposure to hematopathology is typically included in their fellowship training. Job openings for hematologists require training in a recognized fellowship program to learn to diagnose and treat numerous blood-related benign conditions and blood cancers. Hematologists typically work across specialties to care for patients with complex illnesses, such as sickle cell disease, who require complex, multidisciplinary care, and to provide consultation on cases of disseminated intravascular coagulation, thrombosis and other conditions that can occur in hospitalized patients.[8]

See also

  • Hematopathology

References

  1. ^ "Hematology". Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "What is Hematology?". News-Medical.net. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Hematology". American Medical Association. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  4. ^ Kayal L, Jayachandran S, Singh K (July 2014). "Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura". Contemporary Clinical Dentistry. 5 (3): 410–414. doi:10.4103/0976-237X.137976. PMC 4147825. PMID 25191085.
  5. ^ Kohne E (August 2011). "Hemoglobinopathies: clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment". Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. 108 (31–32): 532–540. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2011.0532. PMC 3163784. PMID 21886666.
  6. ^ "Advances in Transfusion Medicine - Hematology.org". www.hematology.org. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Resources for Medical Students and Residents". Hematology.org. American Society of Hematology. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  8. ^ May JE, Irelan PC, Boedeker K, Cahill E, Fein S, Garcia DA, et al. (September 2020). "Systems-based hematology: highlighting successes and next steps". Blood Advances. 4 (18): 4574–4583. doi:10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002947. PMC 7509880. PMID 32960959.
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