Main Entry: How·ell–Jol·ly body

Pronunciation: \ˈhau̇-əl-zhȯ-ˈlē-, -ˈjäl-ē-\

Function: noun

: one of the basophilic granules that are probably nuclear fragments, that sometimes occur in red blood cells, and that indicate by their appearance in circulating blood that red cells are leaving the bone marrow while incompletely mature (as in certain anemias)

Howell, William Henry (1860–1945), American physiologist. Howell was one of the leading physiologists of his time. His early contributions to physiology concerned the circulatory system, nerve tissue, and the components of blood. His later researches dealt with the coagulation of blood. He described what are now known as Howell-Jolly bodies in an article published in 1890.

Jol·ly \zhȯ-lē\ , Justin–Marie–Jules (1870–1953), French histologist. Jolly did research on the morphology of blood and blood-forming tissues and on mammalian embryology. Independently of Howell, he described the Howell-Jolly bodies in a series of articles published 1905–1907.