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Book

Heinz Body

Timothy F. Herman  1 , Robert B. Killeen  2 , Muhammad U. Javaid  3
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
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Book

Heinz Body

Timothy F. Herman et al.
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Excerpt

Heinz bodies, initially known as Heinz-Erlich bodies, were first described by Dr. Robert Heinz in 1890. Heinz bodies are indicative of oxidative injury to the erythrocyte. They are inclusions of irreversibly denatured hemoglobin attached to the erythrocyte cell membrane. Studies have shown that anti-oxidants may reduce Heinz body formation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Timothy Herman declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Robert Killeen declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Muhammad Javaid declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Palasuwan A, Soogarun S, Lertlum T, Pradniwat P, Wiwanitkit V. Inhibition of Heinz body induction in an in vitro model and total antioxidant activity of medicinal Thai plants. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2005 Oct-Dec;6(4):458-63. - PubMed
    1. Reinhart WH, Sung LP, Chien S. Quantitative relationship between Heinz body formation and red blood cell deformability. Blood. 1986 Dec;68(6):1376-83. - PubMed
    1. Jacob H, Winterhalter K. Unstable hemoglobins: the role of heme loss in Heinz body formation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1970 Mar;65(3):697-701. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gaur M, Sehgal T. Reticulocyte count: a simple test but tricky interpretation! Pan Afr Med J. 2021;40:3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Christopher MM, White JG, Eaton JW. Erythrocyte pathology and mechanisms of Heinz body-mediated hemolysis in cats. Vet Pathol. 1990 Sep;27(5):299-310. - PubMed

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