Methods in leukocyte cytochemistry

During the development and maturation of hematopoetic precursors, certain enzymes and associated substances, such as glycogen, are produced in the developing cells (1,2), which, if detected, can provide important clues to the lineage and classification of leukemias. Although the evaluation of abnormal populations of white blood cells has been greatly refined by the use of immunohistochemistry, flow-cytometric analysis (3), and molecular studies, cytochemistry still plays an important role in the assessment of the abnormal marrow and peripheral blood smear. Cytochemical studies, therefore, still have a role to play in the evaluation of leukemias and other hematological diseases see Fig. 1 ). Fig. 1. Uses of cytochemical studies in the evaluation of blood and bone marrow smears.