left shift

left shift

Hematology An ↑ in a peripheral blood smear of immature granulocytes with ↓ nuclear segmentation, ie 'band' forms, due to ↑ production of myeloid cells in the BM, caused by acute infection Physiology An ↑ in Hb's affinity for O₂–as represented by the oxygen dissociation curve, where the P₅₀ is ↓ and shifted to the left, as occurs with ↑ pH–Bohr effect or ↓ temperature. Cf Right shift.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.