Auer rods (or Auer bodies) are large,

crystalline A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...

cytoplasm The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell a ...

ic inclusion bodies sometimes observed in myeloid blast cells during

acute myeloid leukemia Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with haematopoiesis, normal blood cell production. Sympt ...

, acute promyelocytic leukemia, high-grade myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative disorders. Composed of fused lysosomes and rich in lysosomal enzymes, Auer rods are azurophilic and can resemble needles, commas, diamonds, rectangles, corkscrews, or (rarely) granules.

Eponym

Although Auer rods are named for American physiologist John Auer, they were first described in 1905 by Canadian physician Thomas McCrae, then at Johns Hopkins Hospital, as Auer himself acknowledged in his 1906 paper. Both McCrae and Auer mistakenly thought that the cells containing the rods were lymphoblasts.

Additional images

Image:Myeloblast with Auer rod smear 2010-01-27.JPG, Bone marrow aspirate showing acute myeloid leukemia with Auer rods in several blasts Image:Myeloblast whith Auer rod 2009-09-21.JPG Image:Myeloblast with Auer Rod smear 2009-11-23.JPG

References

External links

Image
at NIH/

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