Pelger's family leukocyte anomaly

Of the hereditary abnormalities of leukocytes, the most common is the Pelger form. It is inherited according to a dominant trait and is characterized by the fact that mature neutrophils, and sometimes eosinophils, have a thickened nucleus, often similar in shape to the nuclei of younger cells - metamyelocyte or even myelocyte. But these cells cannot be attributed to methomyelocytes and myelocytes in terms of their structural features - their nuclei are quite mature. The process of condensation of nuclear chromatin in them is over. In this case, segmented neutrophils have only two segments, with three or more segments they are almost never encountered. In other words, with the Pelgerian anomaly, the shape of the nucleus lags behind its structural development - the structure is old, and its shape is young. With poor staining and inexperience of laboratory technicians, these cells are often mistaken for young ones, and the patient is diagnosed with chronic leukemia or left shift.