Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #PelgerHuet
Most recents (2)
#HematologyTweetstory 10: how did the 5 major #nucleobases get their names? This is slightly tangential to hematology, admittedly, but is a cool story that I’ve been aching to tell since I went through an intense etymology phase many years ago (still have lots of dusty books)./1 
#Guanine is probably the most interesting of the 5. It was first isolated in 1846 from guano, i.e. bird crap, by German chemist Julius Bodo Unger (1819-1885), who studied with the famous Justus Liebeg in Gießen. Unger later owned a factory in #Hannover. Guano image from JSTOR./2
It is hard to imagine just how important seabird guano was economically, back before the beginning of the 20th century when Fritz Haber (who favored #PelgerHuet style eyeglasses😉) figured out how to fix nitrogen artificially & make ammonia. Guano was used for fuel, fertilizer./3
Time for #hematology-#hematopathology-#history #tweetorial 4: the striking Pelger-Huët anomaly! These curious cells, sometimes mistaken for neutrophil bands, can be inherited; if acquired, they are often a sign of #MDS. I took this photomicrograph of a characteristic example./1
There have been a few histories of the Pelger-Huët anomaly published over the years; a particularly nice one was done by my friend @mrinal90151372 @MayoClinic and colleagues in the American Journal of Hematology 2009). The below Tweets include original research. #PelgerHuet /2
Karel Pelger (1885-1931) – often erroneously written “Karl” in reviews - was born in the village of Nijeveen in rural Drenthe in the Netherlands. Though a country boy who disliked cities, he lived in Amsterdam because of his enthusiasm for science & better access to facilities./3
