Granulation Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.

Dohle bodies are frequently seen in conditions such as infection or burns when toxic granulation is also present. The cell in this slide has two Dohle bodies as well as toxic granulation. Vacuoles, although not present in this cell, can frequently appear in a cell containing toxic granulation and Dohle bodies.

Several rare inherited anomalies show atypical granulation in the cytoplasm of peripheral blood cells.

This slide is also from a patient who has Alder-Reilly anomaly. Notice that neutrophil seen in this slide has granulation which is much heavier than in the previous slide. The amount of granulation may vary from cell to cell with some cells being unaffected. A lymphocyte showing abnormal granules is also present in this slide.

Dohle bodies are seen in a number of conditions, including infections, burns, measles, leukemia and chemotherapy. Dohle bodies are classified as pathological in the sense that they are only present when the body is responding to an unusually severe stress or stimulus. This severe stress may cause the cytoplasm of some cells to mature improperly. Their presence does not aid in the diagnosis of the disorders in which they are found, but they are frequently seen along with toxic granulation and/or vacuoles often present in infections and burns. Recognition is important because their appearance is similar to May-Hegglin bodies, which appear in a rare hereditary disorder called May-Hegglin anomaly.

The neutrophils found in Chediak-Higashi can be differentiated from toxic granulation. In conditions causing toxic granulation, the granules are smaller and more numerous and only the neutrophils are affected. In Chediak-Higashi, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes and monocytes are affected. In eosinophils larger than normal eosinophilic granules may be seen, basophils may exhibit larger than normal basophilic granules, lymphocytes, large azurophilic granules. Larger pale granules/bodies may appear in monocytes.

Another example of toxic granulation. Notice that the granules are larger and redder than those in the previous slide.

A 17-year-old young woman was admitted to the hospital with abdominal pain and a tentative diagnosis of appendicitis.The total white blood count was 14,500 cells/cumm with a left shift and neutrophils with changes tagged by the arrow in the photographs (see blue arrow).The bluish-staining, blurred accumulations in the cytoplasm (Doehle bodies), are located at the cell periphery in neutrophils with toxic changes.Doehle bodies are remnants of endocytoplasmic reticulum and are products of cytokine activity in the induction and shortened activity of neutrophil activation.They are often present in conditions with increased neutrophil lysosomal activity, manifest as toxic granulation.In this case, the presence of Doehle bodies serves as markers for infection-induced leukocytosis and supports the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.

A basophil and a small lymphocyte are compared in the same field of the upper photograph, A single basophil is shown in the lower photograph.The cytoplasmic granules of the basophil are larger than the granules of toxic granulation.They contain chemical mediators of immediate hypersensitivity, and are found in the cytoplasm and overlying the nucleus (better seen in the lower photograph). Basophilic granules stain metachromatically with toluidine blue indicating the presence of acid mucopolysaccharide or proteoglycans, both thought to be heparin or heparin-like substances.Basophils are related to tissue mast cells, each involved in hypersensitivity responses and following anaphylactic episodes.Under the stimulation of complement components C3a and C5a, many mediators are released from the basophil granules, including histamine, heparin, and eosinophil chemotactic factors of anaphylaxis, or ECF-A.Basophils are the least common neutrophils in the peripheral blood, comprising 2% or less of the differential count.The presence of large granules of irregular size in basophils and the admixture of eosinophilic granules may indicate dysplastic changes associated with myelodysplastic disorders and leukemia.

Illustrated in the upper and lower photographs are two-lobed, eye glass ("pince nez") nuclei of neutrophils typical for patients with Pelger-Huet anomaly. In addition to the characteristic two lobes connected by a delicate bridge, the dense, homogeneous nuclear chromatin helps to define Pelger-Huet anomaly. Since the peripheral blood smear did not support the diagnosis of appendicitis in this patient, and since abdominal pain localized to the right lower quadrant never developed, the boy was hydrated with intravenous fluid and observed. After hydration, his constitutional symptoms improved and the abdominal pain subsided. In fact, the lad was back on the ski slopes the next afternoon. People entering high altitude where the humidity may be very low are susceptible to dehydration and may experience symptoms related to mountain sickness. Therefore, close observation and hydration may be the best practice in monitoring patients with stories and findings similar to this one. A further lesson here is that technologists must be alert to the possibility of Pelger-Huet anomaly if a high white blood cell count with a high percentage of band neutrophils with strikingly uniform morphology and without toxic granulation are found. Inappropriate therapy or an invasive procedure as was contemplated here may be avoided by a proper smear assessment and clinical corroboration.