What appears as a blue spherical nuclear remnant seen in some Wright-stained erythrocytes?

What appears as a blue spherical nuclear remnant seen in some Wright-stained erythrocytes?

• A. Howell-jolly body
• B. Reticulocyte
• C. Heinz body
• D. Leptocyte

Answer: (A)

Howell-Jolly bodies are small, round, basophilic (blue) nuclear remnants inside mature red blood cells on Wright-stained smears. They are DNA fragments left behind when the spleen doesn’t remove them, a sign of reduced splenic function or after splenectomy. This distinguishes them from reticulocytes, which show a network of RNA in the cytoplasm under special stains; Heinz bodies, which are denatured hemoglobin seen with supravital stains; and leptocytes, which are abnormally thin cells, not nuclear remnants.

Howell-Jolly bodies are small, round, basophilic (blue) nuclear remnants inside mature red blood cells on Wright-stained smears. They are DNA fragments left behind when the spleen doesn’t remove them, a sign of reduced splenic function or after splenectomy. This distinguishes them from reticulocytes, which show a network of RNA in the cytoplasm under special stains; Heinz bodies, which are denatured hemoglobin seen with supravital stains; and leptocytes, which are abnormally thin cells, not nuclear remnants.