normoblast

This term is used exclusively within clinical hematology and pathology. It describes a specific stage of erythropoiesis, the process by which red blood cells are produced. In a healthy adult, these cells are confined to the bone marrow; their appearance in a peripheral blood smear is typically a pathological finding.

Because it is a technical medical term, it is almost never used in casual conversation. It is frequently contrasted with the erythrocyte, which is the mature, anucleated red blood cell. Practitioners use the presence of normoblasts to gauge the urgency of bone marrow responses to hypoxia or hemorrhage.