When comparing the blood smears of patients with intact spleens to those of patients
without spleens, the blood smears of patients without spleens will likely reveal
A. many more fragile and old erythrocytes.
B. many more lymphocytes and monocytes.
C. many more bacteria.
D. less red blood cells.
I think its A. because your sleen processes (romoves) older blood cells after they have lived out their normal life spans?
Yes, you are correct! When comparing the blood smears of patients with intact spleens to those without spleens, the blood smears of patients without spleens will likely reveal many more fragile and old erythrocytes (red blood cells), suggesting that the spleen plays a role in removing older blood cells.
To arrive at this answer, let's understand the function of the spleen. The spleen is an important organ involved in filtering blood and removing old or damaged red blood cells from circulation. It acts as a sort of "graveyard" for these aging erythrocytes.
In patients without a spleen (splenectomy), the absence of this filtration process leads to the accumulation of older red blood cells in the bloodstream. These older cells tend to be more fragile and are therefore more likely to appear on blood smears, which are microscopic slides of blood samples.
Therefore, option A is the correct answer: the blood smears of patients without spleens will likely reveal many more fragile and old erythrocytes.