Acanthocyte (from the Greek word ἄκανθα acantha, meaning 'thorn'), in biology and medicine, refers to an abnormal form of red blood cell that has a spiked cell membrane, due to thorny projections. [1][2] …

Jan 16, 2025 · Unlike normal red blood cells, acanthocytes have uneven spiky projections on their membranes. These cells are at risk of being broken down faster than your body can replace them …

May 15, 2025 · Acanthocytes are also called spur cells. They are dense, shrunken, and irregularly shaped red blood cells with spikes on the outside. These cells form from changes in the fats and …

Sep 18, 2025 · Some red blood cell (RBC) disorders affect the shape of the cells by altering the plasma membrane composition or the ratio of plasma membrane to intracellular volume. Three of the most …

Feb 24, 2016 · What are acanthocytes (spur cells)? Acanthocytes are abnormal red blood cells with unevenly distributed, variably sized spicules caused by increased membrane cholesterol content and …

Jul 24, 2023 · When viewed under a freshly prepared peripheral blood smear (PBS), acanthocytes appear as cells with a few spicules of different sizes, projecting from the surface of the RBC …

Jan 17, 2024 · Acanthocytes (from the Greek word acantha, which means thorn), or spur cells, are spiculated red cells with a few projections of varying size and surface distribution (see the images …

Feb 19, 2020 · Acanthocytes are abnormal red blood cells that have irregular spikes on the cell surface. They’re associated with rare inherited conditions as well as more common acquired conditions.

Acanthocytes (spur cells) are RBCs with irregularly spaced, variably sized spicules. They can form when RBC membranes contain excess cholesterol compared to phospholipids.

Acanthocytes therefore arise most commonly in conditions that alter plasma lipid composition such as liver disease, although occasionally may arise from altered membrane protein composition such as …