A member asked:

Is there any difference between osmotic fragility of fetal red blood cells and adult red blood cells?

2 doctors weighed in across 2 answers

Yes.: Fetal red cells are larger, and with extra surface area to volume and therefore a bit more resistant to osmotic injury than adult red cells.

Answered 10/28/2012

5.5k views

Thank

Osmotic fragility: Osmotic fragility testing is commonly used to screen for hereditary spherocytosis (hs). This test can give a false negative if testing in newborns (that is, you can have hs as a newborn and the test comes back saying you don't). There are new tests using facs (fluorescence activated cell sorting) analysis that can diagnose hs in a newborn.

Answered 12/17/2012

5.4k views

Thank

Related Questions

Sponsored Content
HealthTap Medical Group does not endorse products or services. Sponsored content revenues support our mission to make health information free and accessible to all.Learn more