Pappenheimer bodies
Encyclopedia
Pappenheimer bodies are abnormal granules of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 found inside red blood cell
Red blood cell
Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...

s on routine blood stain.
They are a type of inclusion body
Inclusion bodies
Inclusion bodies are nuclear or cytoplasmic aggregates of stainable substances, usually proteins. They typically represent sites of viral multiplication in a bacterium or a eukaryotic cell and usually consist of viral capsid proteins...

 formed by phagosome
Phagosome
In cell biology, a phagosome is a vacuole formed around a particle absorbed by phagocytosis. The vacuole is formed by the fusion of the cell membrane around the particle. A phagosome is a cellular compartment in which pathogenic microorganisms can be killed and digested...

s that have engulfed excessive amounts of iron. They appear as dense, blue-purple granules within the red blood cell and there are usually only one or two, located in the cell periphery. They are seen in diseases such as sideroblastic anemia
Sideroblastic anemia
Sideroblastic anemia or sideroachrestic anemia is a disease in which the bone marrow produces ringed sideroblasts rather than healthy red blood cells . It may be caused either by a genetic disorder or indirectly as part of myelodysplastic syndrome, which can evolve into hematological malignancies...

, hemolytic anemia
Hemolytic anemia
Hemolytic anemia is a form of anemia due to hemolysis, the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells , either in the blood vessels or elsewhere in the human body . It has numerous possible causes, ranging from relatively harmless to life-threatening...

, and sickle cell disease. They can interfere with platelet counts when the analysis if performed by electro-optical counters.

Pappenheimer bodies are visible with a Wright and/or Giemsa stain. Confirmation of non-heme iron in the granules is made with a Prussian Blue stain.[3]

External links

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/08/01/health/adam/1495Redbloodcellssickleandpappenheimer.html
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