An African-American middle-aged HIV-positive woman with pancytopenia and clinical septicemia had a bone marrow examination. The marrow contained numerous macrophages resembling Gaucher cells, one of which is shown. A marrow stain for AFB identified organisms (Mycobacteria avium-intracellulare) within these macrophages (pseudo-Gaucher cells). This cause of pseudo-Gaucher cells has been described by R. Garza Guajardo, O. Barboza Quintana, and P. Perez Padilla (Diagn Cytopathol. 1998;19:462-464). This smear was provided by Dr Neil Abramson (Baptist Cancer Institute, Jacksonville, FL).FIG1
Neil Abramson, Baptist Cancer InstituteMany Blood Work images are provided by the ASH IMAGE BANK, a reference and teaching tool that is continually updated with new atlas images and images of case studies. For more information or to contribute to the Image Bank, visit www.ashimagebank.org.
