A schistocyte or schizocyte (from Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 schistos for "divided" or schistein for "to split", and kytos for "hollow" or "cell") is a fragmented part of a red blood cell

Red blood cell

Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...

. Schistocytes are typically irregularly shaped, jagged, and asymmetrical. A true schistocyte does not have central pallor. Schistocytes are sometimes referred to as "helmet cells."

Several microangiopathic diseases, including disseminated intravascular coagulation

Disseminated intravascular coagulation

Disseminated intravascular coagulation , also known as disseminated intravascular coagulopathy or consumptive coagulopathy, is a pathological activation of coagulation mechanisms that happens in response to a variety of diseases. DIC leads to the formation of small blood clots inside the blood...

 and thrombotic microangiopathies

Thrombotic microangiopathies

Thrombotic microangiopathy, abbreviated TMA, is a pathology that results in thrombosis in capillaries and arterioles, due to an endothelial injury. It may be seen in association with thrombocytopenia, anemia, purpura and renal failure....

, generate fibrin

Fibrin

Fibrin is a fibrous, non-globular protein involved in the clotting of blood. It is a fibrillar protein that is polymerised to form a "mesh" that forms a hemostatic plug or clot over a wound site....

 strands that sever red blood cells as they try to move past a thrombus

Thrombus

A thrombus , or blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. It is achieved via the aggregation of platelets that form a platelet plug, and the activation of the humoral coagulation system...

, creating schistocytes.

Schistocytes are often seen in patients with hemolytic anemia

Hemolytic anemia

Hemolytic anemia is a form of anemia due to hemolysis, the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells , either in the blood vessels or elsewhere in the human body . It has numerous possible causes, ranging from relatively harmless to life-threatening...

. They are frequently a consequence of mechanical heart valve prostheses. (See artificial heart valve

Artificial heart valve

An artificial heart valve is a device implanted in the heart of a patient with heart valvular disease. When one of the four heart valves malfunctions, the medical choice may be to replace the natural valve with an artificial valve. This requires open-heart surgery.Valves are integral to the normal...

)

Excessive schistocytes present in blood can be a sign of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia

Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia

In medicine microangiopathic hemolytic anemia is a microangiopathic subgroup of hemolytic anemia caused by factors in the small blood vessels. It is identified by the finding of anemia and schistocytes on microscopy of the blood film.-Presentation:It is referred as Runner's anemia...

(MAHA) where the most common cause is aortic stenosis.