Scanning Electron Microscopy of Erythrocytes of Dog, Cat, Cow, Horse, Sheep and Goat

Abstract

Summary Erythrocytes of the dog, cat, cow, horse, sheep and goat were studied with the scanning electron microscope. In whole blood fixed immediately after venipuncture, biconcave erythrocytes were seen in all species, but their proportion and the degree of concavity varied. Typical biconcave erythrocytes were seen in the dog, cow and sheep, while the erythrocytes of the horse and cat had shallow concavity and most of the erythrocytes of the goat were rather flat or had a slight depression of the surface. The cow and, to some extent, the sheep also had uniconcave bowl-shaped erythrocytes. These cells assumed several different profiles on the coverslip preparations examined. Poihilocytosis tvas prominent among caprine erythrocytes. One goat had many spindle-shaped cells in addition to rod-shaped cells with rounded ends and other morphological forms. A few ovine erythrocytes possessed one or more wart-like protuberances on their surface.