Overview
This photomicrograph shows one of the abnormal shapes that red blood cells (RBCs) may assume, a tear-drop shape. Normally, RBCs are round.
Review Date 1/9/2022
Updated by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.