Primary Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissue ›› Bone Marrow ›› Lymphoid ›› Plasma Cells ›› Normal
Plasma Cell
›Microscopic Features:
- 2-3x larger than a mature RBC
- Round eccentricly placed nucleus with coarse chromatin (Nucleus may show a clock-faced chromatin pattern)
- Abundant basophilic (blue) cytoplasm with prominent perinuclear hof (clearing)
- Nucleoli are absent
›Normal % blood-PB, marrow-BM, lymphoid tissue-LN:
- PB: None
- BM: Scattered
- LN: Scattered
›May Resemble:
›Differential Diagnoses:
Increased in:
Chronic infection
Malignancies (e.g. plasma cell myeloma, lymphoma, etc.)
Autoimmune disorder
Drug reaction
Chronic infection
Malignancies (e.g. plasma cell myeloma, lymphoma, etc.)
Autoimmune disorder
Drug reaction
›Classic Immunophenotype:
- CD138+
- CD38 bright+
- CD19+
- CD20-
- CD56-
- Mixture of Cytoplasmic kappa and lambda light chains
›Cartoon Image:
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3D Representation
›Misc:
Normally seen in bone marrow and lymphoid tissue. It is not seen in normal peripheral blood.
The plasma cells in a normal bone marrow are polytypic (not clonal) and do not form sheets or clusters. Polytypic means a mixture of kappa and lambda light chains
The plasma cells in a normal bone marrow are polytypic (not clonal) and do not form sheets or clusters. Polytypic means a mixture of kappa and lambda light chains