Reticulocyte

/ɹˌɛtɪkjˈʊləsˌaɪt/

/ɹˌɛɾɪkjˈʊləsˌaɪt/

[noun]

Reticulocyte

[NOUN]

an immature form of a red blood cell that indicates active blood cell production in the bone marrow

What is a "reticulocyte"?

A reticulocyte is an immature red blood cell that contains remnants of ribosomal RNA. It is released into the bloodstream from the bone marrow and eventually matures into a fully functional red blood cell. Reticulocyte counts are often used to assess the rate of red blood cell production and can provide insights into various hematological conditions, such as anemia and bone marrow disorders.

Examples

1. Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium falciparum invade red blood cells of all ages, whereas Plasmodium vivax prefers to invade reticulocytes which are young, immature red blood cells, and Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium knowlesi prefer to invade older red blood cells.

2. Now you’re left with a reticulocyte, which is pretty much just an early erythrocyte that still has a little group of ribosomes left, called a reticulum.

3. When the reticulocyte is finally bursting with hemoglobin, then it leaves the marrow and enters the bloodstream, and a couple of days later, when the last ribosomes have degraded, you’ve officially got yourself a mature red blood cell.

4. From there, it keeps condensing down and loses its nucleus to become a reticulocyte, and after ditching even more of its contents and slipping into the bloodstream it becomes a mature red blood cell.