A peripheral smear from a 20-year-old man who underwent splenectomy after trauma shows numerous Howell-Jolly bodies. These nuclear remnants persist because the spleen normally performs which function?

• A Synthesis of clotting factors VIII and V
• B Production of erythropoietin during fetal life
• C Pitting of inclusions from red cells without destroying them ✓
• D Storage of platelets amounting to half the circulating mass

Explanation

The spleen culls abnormal red cells entirely and pits rigid inclusions such as nuclear remnants out of otherwise viable cells as they squeeze through the red pulp cords into the sinusoids. After splenectomy, Howell-Jolly bodies persist in the circulation and serve as a marker of absent splenic function. The spleen stores about one third of the platelet mass, not half, and manufactures no clotting factors.

Reference: Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 10th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.