polychromasia Med.
(ˌpɒlɪkrəʊˈmeɪzɪə)
[mod.L., back-formation from polychromatic a. (see -ia1).]
= polychromatophilia.
| 1909 R. J. M. Buchanan Blood in Health & Dis. xi. 196 Polychromasia is common; with stains containing methyl blue and eosin such cells may be a light violet or even a distinct blue, with methylene blue and iodine the erythrocytes in this disease exhibit a green colour not usually met with in other forms of anæmia. 1935 Whitby & Britton Disorders of Blood iii. 64 For many years polychromasia was considered to be a degeneration until Hawes (1909) showed that the number of polychromatic cells was always approximately parallel to the number of reticulocytes. 1956 [see anisocytosis s.v. aniso-]. 1973 Woodliff & Herrmann Conc. Haematol. i. 18 In many cells polychromasia of the cytoplasm remains after loss of the nucleus. 1977 Proc. R. Soc. Med. LXX. 284/2 Film was leukoerythroblastic and showed polychromasia, anisopoikilocytosis, occasional erythroblasts..and tear-drop cells. |
Hence ˌpolychroˈmasic a. = polychromatophil a.; cf. polychromatic a. 2.
| 1911 Jrnl. Path. & Bacteriol. XV. 9 Degenerate forms with vacuolated or irregularly stained and polychromasic cytoplasm are often seen. 1933 [see polychromatophilia]. 1942 M. M. Wintrobe Clin. Hematol. ii. 56 A close parallelism between the numbers of polychromasic and reticulated cells in various samples of blood has been found, although the proportion of reticulocytes is always higher. |