Basophilic stippling (also known as punctate basophilia)
The fine dots represent RNA and can be seen in loads of conditions, below are a few:
- Lead poisoning
- Thalassaemia
- Myelodysplastic syndrome
- Congenital dyseryhtropoeitic anaemia
- Sideroblastic anaemia
Remember to
Put the puzzle together when looking at a blood film – if suspecting MDS, look out for dysplastic granulocytes and blasts, if lead poisoning – clinical history (confusion) and microcytosis (not macro!)
Also, they are not seen on Perl’s stain, so don’t confuse them with Pappenheimer bodies
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