title: Assessment of platelet numbers and morphology in the peripheral blood smear.
abstract: Automated systems are currently in widespread use for the assessment of patients' complete blood counts. The evaluation of the peripheral blood smear, however, still constitutes a pivotal tool in the evaluation of patients with hematologic disorders. This article focuses on disorders affecting the number or morphology of platelets as assessed by evaluation of a peripheral blood smear and also outlines some of their important clinical findings.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology Oncology and Internal Medicine, Mayo Medical School, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. MorenoAspitia.Alvaro@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Menke
mesh_terms: D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D010976:Platelet Count / Q000379:methods*; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis