Auer Rods

Other Known Aliases – none

Definition – Auer rods are azurophilic granules found in the cytoplasm of leukemic blast cells and are composed of fused lyosomes.

Clinical Significance – These are found in high grade myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative syndromes and are pathognomonic for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).

History – Named after John Auer (1875-1948), an American physiologist and pharmacologist, who held appointments at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, and the St. Louis School of Medicine. He first described these structures in a 21yo male who was suffering from a sore throat and nosebleed and admitted to Sir William Osler’s service for work-up.  He published this finding in 1906, but were first described by a colleague of his at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Thomas McCrae.  Interestingly, they both erroneously thought that the cells containing these structures were lymphoblasts, not myeloblasts.

References

1. Firkin BG and Whitwirth JA.  Dictionary of Medical Eponyms. 2nd ed.  New York, NY; Parthenon Publishing Group. 1996.
2. Bartolucci S, Forbis P.  Stedman’s Medical Eponyms.  2nd ed.  Baltimore, MD; LWW.  2005.
3. Yee AJ, Pfiffner P. (2012).  Medical Eponyms (Version 1.4.2) [Mobile Application Software].  Retrieved http://itunes.apple.com.
4. Whonamedit – dictionary of medical eponyms. http://www.whonamedit.com
5. Gordon SW, Krystal GW. Auer Rods. NEJM. 2017; 376(21):2065. [pubmed]
6. Auer J. Some hitherto Undescribed Structures Found in the Large Lymphocytes of a Case of Acute Leukemia. AJMS. 1906;131(6):1002-1014 [article]
7. McCrae T. Acute Lymphatic Leukemia, with Report of Five Cases. BMJ. 1905; 1(2304):404-8. [pubmed]
8. John Auer. http://www.iqb.es/historiamedicina/personas/auer.htm