Basophilic stippling

Basophilic stippling aka Punctate basophilia refers to an observation found when observing a blood smear in which erythrocytes display small dots at the periphery. These dots are the visualization of ribosomes and can often be found in the peripheral blood smear, even in some normal individuals.

It is associated with several conditions, including:

• Myelodysplastic Syndrome
• Sideroblastic anemia
• Lead poisoning (normocytic anemia)
• Arsenic poisoning
• Beta thalassemia (though some have questioned this)
• Alpha-thalassemia, HbH Disease
• Hereditary Pyrimidine 5'-Nucleotidase Deficiency
• Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

See also

• Stippling
• Basophile