Schistocyte is a general term for a fragmented red blood cell that may assume various shapes, some with horn-like projections (keratocytes), triangle-forms (triangulocytes), and helmet shapes, as illustrated in the upper photograph. Schistocytes are formed when erythrocytes are forced through a vessel blocked with interlacing fibrin strands and the red cells are sliced into fragments.

• True schistocytes are devoid of central pallor.
• These damaged cells continue to circulate while healing their torn edges. Finally, they are removed by the spleen.

Bite cells (lower photograph) appear when an abnormal hemoglobin aggregate (Heinz body) is nibbled out of a red cell's cytoplasm by the spleen leaving a bitten apple appearance.

• Glucose 6-PD deficiency secondary to chemical poisoning or injury by oxidant drugs are settings for Heinz body formation, and the telltale bite cells remain as evidence.
• Hemolytic anemia associated with severe liver disease is another setting where bite cells are formed.