polycythemia
Sign in to saveAlso known as erythrocythemia
Polycythemia (also spelt polycythaemia) is a laboratory finding that the hematocrit (the volume percentage of red blood cells in the blood) and/or hemoglobin concentration are increased in the blood. Polycythemia is sometimes called erythrocytosis, and there is significant overlap in the two findings, but the terms are not the same: polycythemia describes any increase in hematocrit and/or hemoglobin, while erythrocytosis describes an increase specifically in the number of red blood cells in the blood.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Polycythemia
- Medical condition (new).image
- 1901 Composition of Blood.jpg
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Diagram illustrating normal composition of blood compared to anemia and polycythemia
- Medical condition (new).field
- Hematology
- Medical condition (new).synonyms
- Erythrocytosis, Hypercythemia, Hypererythrocythemia
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
17,403 papers- Polycythemia vera and other primary polycythemias.Current opinion in hematology · 2005
- [Inherited polycythemia].La Revue de medecine interne · 2003
- Polycythemia and oxygen sensing.Pathologie-biologie · 2004
- Congenital and inherited polycythemia.Current opinion in pediatrics · 2000
- [Polycythemia].Wiadomosci lekarskie (Warsaw, Poland : 1960) · 1993
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
Show 3 more facts
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C26863
- exact match
- www.orpha.net/ORDO/Orphanet_98427
- Commons category
- Polycythemias
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~17 min read
Article
21 sectionsContents
- Definition
- Differential diagnoses
- Polycythemia in adults
- Polycythemia in neonates
- Pathophysiology
- Evaluation
- History and physical exam
- Laboratory evaluation
- Additional testing
- Polycythemia types
- Primary polycythemia
- Secondary polycythemia
- Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and secondary polycythemia
- Altered oxygen sensing
- Symptoms
- Epidemiology
- Management
- Relation to athletic performance
- See also
- References
- External links
Polycythemia (also spelt polycythaemia) is a laboratory finding that the hematocrit (the volume percentage of red blood cells in the blood) and/or hemoglobin concentration are increased in the blood. Polycythemia is sometimes called erythrocytosis, and there is significant overlap in the two findings, but the terms are not the same: polycythemia describes any increase in hematocrit and/or hemoglobin, while erythrocytosis describes an increase specifically in the number of red blood cells in the blood.
Polycythemia has many causes. It can describe an increase in the number of red blood cells ("absolute polycythemia") or a decrease in the volume of plasma ("relative polycythemia"). Absolute polycythemia can be due to genetic mutations in the bone marrow ("primary polycythemia"), physiological adaptations to one's environment, medications, and/or other health conditions. Laboratory studies such as serum erythropoeitin levels and genetic testing might be helpful to clarify the cause of polycythemia if the physical exam and patient history do not reveal a likely cause.