Flow cytometry and a short list of CD markers

Sometimes, you just can’t tell what kind of tumor you’re looking at under the microscope. In acute leukemia, for example, some cases have distinctive features (like Auer rods) that tell you what kind of leukemia it is – but other cases have no clues.
In cases where clues are minimal – particularly in hematolopoietic or lymphoid neoplasms – you can do flow cytometry to see what markers are on the surface of the cells. This is a test that uses fluorescent antibodies to tag molecules on the surface of cells. The flow cytometer, which is super fancy, has a teeny tube that allows the cells to flow one at a time past a laser beam (check out the diagram below).

View the list of CD markers ead more:
A short list of CD markers

Source: Pathology student


Art and Science of Laboratory Medicine

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