Acanthocyte

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Acanthocyte is a general term meaning ‘spiny cell’. AKA “spur cell” in more severe cases

• In human biology and medicine, the term refers to pathological red blood cells, which are coarse and irregularly crenelated resembling many-pointed stars. They are seen on blood films in, among others, lipid abnormalities, liver disease, chorea acanthocytosis, McLeod syndrome and several inherited neurological disorders, such as neuroacanthocytosis.

• In veterinary medicine, Acanthocytosis may be seen in dogs with liver disease or hemangiosarcoma.

• In mycology, the term also refers to stellate cells found on the hyphae of fungi of the genus Stropharia. Recent work, published in 2006, on those of Stropharia rugosoannulata has shown them to have nematode-killing properties.^[1]