Dialysis Technician Practice Exam

What symptom is associated with "cherry pop" colored blood?

1. Hemorrhage

2. Hemolysis

3. Anemia

4. Thrombosis

The correct answer is: Hemolysis

The symptom associated with "cherry pop" colored blood is hemolysis. This distinctive coloration is often a result of the presence of excess free hemoglobin in the blood, which occurs when red blood cells are destroyed at an abnormal rate. During hemolysis, the breakdown of hemoglobin can release a pigment called bilirubin, and when this process is significant, it can lead to the characteristic bright red or "cherry pop" appearance in the plasma. While hemorrhage involves blood loss and would generally lead to darker, more diluted blood, and anemia is a condition characterized by a reduced number of red blood cells without specifically altering the color of the blood, hemolysis effectively alters the color due to the release of hemoglobin. Thrombosis, on the other hand, refers to the formation of a blood clot and does not relate to the color change of blood in the same way. Thus, hemolysis is uniquely tied to the "cherry pop" coloration due to its biochemical changes in the bloodstream.