| Howell unit | The quantity of heparin required to keep 1 ml of cat's blood fluid for 24 hr at 0°C; it is equivalent approximately to 0.002 mg of pure heparin. Synonym: Howell unit. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| Howell, William | <person> U.S. Physiologist, 1860-1945. See: Howell unit, Howell-Jolly bodies. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Howell-Jolly bodies | Spherical or ovoid eccentrically located granules, approximately 1 um in diameter, occasionally observed in the stroma of circulating erythrocytes, especially in stained preparations (as compared with wet unstained films); probably represent nuclear remnants, inasmuch as they can be stained with dyes that are rather specific for chromatin; the significance of the body's is not exactly known; they occur most frequently after splenectomy or in megaloblastic or severe haemolytic anaemia. Synonym: Jolly bodies. (05 Mar 2000) |