Rod body

Rod-shaped bodies are purplish red rod-shaped substances in leukocyte plasma in blood smears stained by Wright or Giemsa. It is about 1 to 6 μm in length, and one or more are uncertain. Rod-shaped bodies are more common in the juvenile granulocyte plasm of acute myeloid leukemia, which are thick and short rods, usually 1 or 2; several in promyelocytic leukemia (type M3) with increased granules. To dozens, some are bundle-shaped; rod-shaped bodies do not appear in acute lymphocytic leukemia. Therefore, rod-shaped bodies have certain reference value for the diagnosis of acute leukemia and the identification of leukemia cell types.