Revised 08/2025

MDL 125 - Clinical Hematology I (3 CR.)

Course Description

Teaches the cellular elements of blood including blood cell formation, and routine hematological procedures. Lecture 2 hours. Laboratory 3 hours. Total 5 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

The purpose of the course is to teach the student the principals of hematopoiesis and the basic principles and techniques of Clinical Hematology.

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Students should be enrolled in the first year of the Medical Laboratory Technology AAS degree program or receive program director approval.

Course Objectives

Upon completing the course, the students will be able to:

  • Perform and interpret appropriately quality control results and assess all specimens and reagents according to standard laboratory protocols.
  • Describe the normal life cycle of red cells, white cells and platelets, including site of formation, function, destruction and kinetics.
  • Recall the reference interval values for all parameters contained within a complete blood count (CBC), including units.
  • Identify normal and abnormal cells on peripheral blood smears and correlate abnormalities with their causes.
  • Perform routine manual and automated cell counts, hemoglobin/hematocrit, and
  • other hematological tests within acceptable limits of time, accuracy and precision as determined by the instructor.
  • Calculate hematological parameters given the appropriate data; recall formula for RBC indices and use of the hemocytometer.
  • Effectively communicate processes, procedures and results in a multicultural environment.

Major Topics to Be Included

  • Hematopoiesis
  • RBC morphology
  • WBC maturation
  • Platelet morphology
  • Basic hematology procedures:
    • Cell counts, slide preparation and staining, CBC analysis, ESR, Sickle cell screen, Reticulocyte counts
  • Normal blood smear evaluation
  • Introduction to Anemia