russell's body
Noun: 1. A cellular inclusion body: A distinct, spherical structure found within the cytoplasm of plasma cells. It is an eosinophilic (readily stained with acidic dyes) inclusion composed of accumulated immunoglobulin. Its presence is most commonly associated with certain cancers, particularly multiple myeloma, but can also be seen in other conditions involving intense antibody production.
The term is used specifically in medical and pathological contexts to describe a diagnostic microscopic finding. * The pathologist identified numerous Russell's bodies in the bone marrow biopsy, supporting the diagnosis of plasma cell dyscrasia. * Under the microscope, the cytoplasm of the malignant plasma cells was filled with large, pink-staining Russell's bodies.
- Diagnostic Significance: The presence of Russell's bodies is a key histological feature that helps pathologists identify abnormal plasma cell proliferation, often pointing toward neoplasms like multiple myeloma or related plasma cell disorders.
- Pathogenesis: Russell's bodies represent a pathological endpoint where the cell's machinery for secreting antibodies (immunoglobulins) is overwhelmed or defective, leading to the intracellular accumulation of these proteins.
- Mott cell: A plasma cell containing multiple Russell's bodies. The terms are closely related; a Russell's body is the inclusion itself, while a Mott cell is the cell that contains them.
- Inclusion body: A general term for any distinct, abnormal structure found within a cell. Russell's body is a specific type of inclusion body.
- Plasma cell: The type of white blood cell (B lymphocyte) that produces antibodies and in which Russell's bodies are found.
- Plasma cell inclusion body
- Immunoglobulin inclusion body
- Dutcher body: A different type of intranuclear inclusion found in plasma cells, also associated with lymphoproliferative disorders. It is often mentioned alongside Russell's bodies in pathological descriptions.
- Flame cell: A plasma cell with reddish cytoplasm, sometimes confused with but distinct from a cell containing Russell's bodies.
- an inclusion body found in plasma cells in cases of cancer