Original MICA image-reading exercise, unscored. No clinical narrative absent from the source is added.
- Describe visible findings before proposing an interpretation.
- Suggest an interpretation and at least one image limitation.
- Which clinical findings or investigations would complement this observation?
Reveal the explained reading
Target cells · peripheral blood film
- Cell
- Red blood cell
- Appearance
- Concentric target
- Direction
- Liver disease or haemoglobinopathy
- Limit
- Nonspecific finding
Morphological description
The image shows target cells among red cells with varied shapes; no cell measurement is proposed.
Causes and diagnostic direction
Haemoglobinopathies, thalassaemias, liver disease and asplenia guide the investigation according to context.
Differential diagnoses
Distinguish a true target from a merely hypochromic red cell; an uneven distribution may be artifactual.
Pitfalls and limitations
Do not convert the author’s proposed haemoglobin SC hypothesis into a confirmed diagnosis.
Take-home message
Describe morphology, check film quality and investigate the cause using laboratory data.
Sources
- Scordino T. Target Cells. ASH Image Bank, 2016, image 60310 ↗
- Jafari P, Venkataraman G. Target Cells. ASH Image Bank, 2019, image 62464 ↗
Documentary review: 2026-10-15
Media source & rights
- Author
- Ed Uthman
- Original source
- Ed Uthman · Target Cells (51391831913).jpg · CC BY 2.0 · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Target_Cells_(51391831913).jpg
- Licence
- CC BY 2.0
- Changes
- Full original field and annotations retained; WebP conversion, EXIF/GPS metadata removed, proportional derivatives without upscaling, cropping or medical retouching.
- Dimensions
- 2058 × 2034 px
- Check
- 2026-10-15