What smear feature is described in the Burkitt ALL case?

Get ready for the CAMLPR Hematology Test. Use our quizzes, flashcards, and detailed explanations to enhance your understanding. Prepare confidently for your exam!

Multiple Choice

What smear feature is described in the Burkitt ALL case?

Burkitt ALL cells characteristically have scant, very basophilic cytoplasm that often contains multiple small vacuoles due to lipid droplets. This combination—deeply basophilic cytoplasm with vacuolation—is a hallmark on smear and helps distinguish Burkitt blasts from others. The other described features point to different conditions: Auer rods are typical of myeloid blasts in AML, hairy projections are seen in hairy cell leukemia, and eccentric cytoplasm with few vacuoles doesn’t match the classic Burkitt cell morphology.

Burkitt ALL cells characteristically have scant, very basophilic cytoplasm that often contains multiple small vacuoles due to lipid droplets. This combination—deeply basophilic cytoplasm with vacuolation—is a hallmark on smear and helps distinguish Burkitt blasts from others. The other described features point to different conditions: Auer rods are typical of myeloid blasts in AML, hairy projections are seen in hairy cell leukemia, and eccentric cytoplasm with few vacuoles doesn’t match the classic Burkitt cell morphology.

More practice questions