The graphic representation of the blood picture
Yale Hicks · Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine · 1938
Abstract A method for expressing the essential elements of the leucocyte count in the form of a curve is described. It presents the following new features: 1.1. It expresses the increase in immature neutrophiles (or shift to the left), both qualitatively and quantitatively, in addition to the total white cell count and neutrophile percentage. 2.2. When the method is applied to the interpretation of the leucocyte count in a number of pathologic states, various forms or types of curves result, which enables a given count to be at once placed within one of the different classes. 3.3. It simplifies the interpretation of the leucocyte count from the standpoint of prognosis. 4.4. It makes it possible to record the entire blood picture in the form of a chart during the course of an illness, showing the point at which metamyelocytes and myelocytes first appear in the blood, the rate and degree of increase in the total immature neutrophiles, and the extent of the patient's resistance in relation to the progress of the infection.