The CBC at the turn of the millennium: an overview.

This review offers a birds-eye view of the state of automated hematology at the turn of the millennium. Despite its shortcomings (mainly flaggings and labor-intensive demands for confirmation), instrument-driven hematology provides much accurate and precise data to clinicians. Advances in technology over the next few decades will undoubtedly improve on the categorization of currently ambiguous mononuclear cells and even introduce channels for the detection and subclassification of poikilocytes. Until then, familiarity with the morphology of blood cell variants will be mandatory for technologists attending to the demands of flagging.