<prompt> A patient presents with a platelet count of 700x109L with abnormalities in size, shape and granularity of platelets. WBC count of 12x109 L, hemoglobin of 11gdl and the absence of the Philadelphia chromosome. The most likely diagnosis would be-Polycythemia veraEssential thrombocythemiaChronic myeloid leukemiaLeukemoid reaction  <response>: Ans. b Essential thrombocythemiaRef: Robbins 9thpg 619-620; 8thpg 629-630In the given scenario, a patient presents with thrombocytosis with abnormalities in size, shape and granularity of platelets, with normal WBC count hemoglobin and the absence of the Philadelphia chromosome. The most likely diagnosis in this case would be Essential Thrombocythemia 