Increase in platelet count is termed

• A. Coaguability
• B. Reticulocytosis
• C. Polycythemia Vera
• D. Thrombocytosis

Answer: (D)

The concept being tested is how we name changes in platelet numbers. When the platelet count is elevated, the term used is thrombocytosis. Platelets normally range about 150,000 to 450,000 per microliter of blood, and increases can be reactive (due to infection, inflammation, iron deficiency, or recent surgery) or clonal (as in essential thrombocythemia). The other terms describe different ideas: coaguability refers to the tendency to form clots in general, not specifically to an increased platelet count; reticulocytosis is an increase in immature red blood cells; polycythemia vera is a myeloproliferative disorder characterized by increased red cell mass and can include elevated platelets but is not the name for a high platelet count itself.