Pappenheimer bodies

What it means

A type of erythrocyte inclusion characterized by basophilic stippling of erythrocytes, that is, by numerous very small coarse or fine blue granules within the cytoplasm with the additional stipulation that the stippled particles are due to iron granules (demonstrable by the Prussian blue stain).

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category