Sideroblast Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.

These are the MediaLab courses that cover Sideroblast and links to relevant pages within the course.

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Erythrocyte Inclusions - Wright Stained Smears
This Prussian blue stained smear shows both sideroblasts and siderocytes.	View Page
This Prussian Blue stain shows a normal sideroblast.	View Page
Match the following terms with the correct definition.	View Page
Sideroblast A sideroblast, shown at the arrow, is a nucleated red cell containing siderotic granules. However, these granules are generally not clustered around the nucleus, but are found in the periphery of the cell. Siderocytes are present normal bone marrow.	View Page
Another Sideroblast Another example of a sideroblast is seen in the center of this slide.	View Page
Ring Sideroblast A nucleated red cell containing siderotic granules clustered around the nucleus is shown by the arrow. This is called a ring sideroblast and is seen only in pathological conditions. A siderocyte is also present toward the lower left.	View Page
Ring Sideroblast Another example of a ringed sideroblast. The granules, although clustered around the nucleus, are not as prominent as the ones in the previous slide.	View Page
This Prussian blue stained smear shows:	View Page
Siderotic Granules To verify that red cell inclusions contain iron, it is necessary to use an iron stain, such as Perl's Prussian blue. The iron-containing granules are called siderotic granules. A mature erythrocyte containing siderotic granules is referred to as a siderocyte, while an immature (nucleated) erythrocyte containing siderotic granules is known as a sideroblast. A Pappenheimer body is a siderotic granule which is visible on Wright stain. All Pappenheimer bodies are Prussian blue positive, but not all siderotic granules are visible on Wright's stain as Pappenheimer bodies.	View Page
Which of the following is considered a pathological finding?	View Page
This slide contains a sideroblast.	View Page
The red cell in the center of the field contains a:	View Page
Siderocytes and Ring Sideroblasts. 20 to 60% of red cell precursors seen in bone marrow slides normally contain siderotic iron granules visible with Prussian Blue stain. The presence of sideroblasts and siderocytes indicates that the red cell precursors have an ample supply of iron. When a red cell precursor contains too much iron, the siderotic granules form a ring around the nucleus and the resulting cells are referred to as ring sideroblasts. The ring sideroblast is an abnormal (pathological) form of sideroblast.	View Page

Introduction to Bone Marrow

Ring Sideroblasts

This slide shows a marrow aspiration smear with numerous ring sideroblasts. Normal red cell precursors have only one or at most two granules of iron in their cytoplasm. These abnormal red cell precursors have numerous iron containing granules in their cytoplasm indicating abnormal iron incorporation. This iron is actually incorporated into mitochondria. Ring sideroblasts can be seen in idiopathic sideroblastic anemia, and in sideroblastic anemia induced by drugs, lead poisoning, and alcohol abuse.

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Red Cell Disorders: Peripheral Blood Clues to Nonneoplastic Conditions
Cells as shown in this iron-stained bone marrow preparation are found in each of the following conditions except:	View Page
A blood smear represented by the photograph was submitted for hematologic review. Based on the erythrocyte morphology and the accompanying histogram, which of the following choices is the most likely situation or condition?	View Page