A Case that Shows Why Blood Smears are so Important

This case is a great example of why blood smears are IMPORTANT!

This was a blood smear from a cat with a completely normal CBC. No cytopenias, no lymphocytosis. But lurking under the microscope were blasts-- this is not normal.

These cells are large, immature, with a prominent nucleolus. They should not be in circulation.

This cat ended up having lymphoma, and these cells were circulating in low numbers. There were too few to cause a change in the CBC data, but by looking under the microscope, we knew something was up.