Flow cytometry: Principles and clinical applications in hematology

The use of flow cytometry in the clinical laboratory has grown substantiall y in the past decade. This is attributable in part to the development of sm aller, user-friendly, less-expensive instruments and a continuous increase in the number of clinical applications. Flow cytometry measures multiple ch aracteristics of individual particles flowing in single file in a stream of fluid. Light scattering at different angles can distinguish differences in size and internal complexity, whereas light emitted from fluorescently lab eled antibodies can identify a wide array of cell surface and cytoplasmic a ntigens. This approach makes flow cytometry a powerful tool for detailed an alysis of complex populations in a short period of time. This report review s the general principles in flow cytometry and selected applications of flo w cytometry in the clinical hematology laboratory. (C) 2000 American Associ ation for Clinical Chemistry.