Pappenheimer_bodies
Pappenheimer bodies
Abnormal iron deposits in red blood cells
Pappenheimer bodies are abnormal basophilic granules of iron found inside red blood cells on routine blood stain.[1] They are a type of inclusion body composed of ferritin aggregates, or mitochondria or phagosomes containing aggregated ferritin. 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 stain on a Romanowsky stain because clumps of ribosomes are co‐precipitated with the iron‐containing organelles.
A cell containing Pappenheimer bodies is a siderocyte. Reticulocytes often contain Pappenheimer bodies. They are mostly observed in diseases such as myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), sideroblastic anemia, hemolytic anemia, lead poisoning and sickle cell disease. They can interfere with platelet counts when the analysis is performed by electro-optical counters.[2]