12 The Lymphocyte and Lymphocytic Tissue 



sufficiently brief, nuclei are generally not robbed of their DNA because 

 nuclear remnants are visible in erythrocytes as well as in macrophages. 30 



Because I have recently been convinced by the beautiful demonstration of 

 Bessis 36 of the manner in which islands consisting of a reticular cell sur- 

 rounded by normoblasts function, I should like to explain this briefly and 

 draw a possible analogy for future investigation. Bessis has shown that the 

 ring of normoblasts surrounding reticular cells of the marrow is more than a 



Fig. 1-14. Blood from same patient from whom lymph node 

 biopsy was obtained. One reticular blastic form like those in the 

 node is seen at the 12 o'clock position. The next smaller cells 

 are the classic lymphoblasts of acute and subacute lymphatic 

 leukemia. The hyperchromatic small cells are probably small or 

 shrunken reticular cells; they are not normal small lymphocytes. 

 This blood was obtained late in the course of the disease when 

 the marrow was also diffusely involved, (x 800) 



chance association. We have known that reticular cells engulf erythrocytes 

 and that within the reticular cells the erythrocytes lose the red-orange color 

 of hemoglobin and ultimately leave white round remnants of themselves in 

 that phagocytic cell. The cytoplasm of the macrophage surrounding these 

 phagocytosed erythrocytes may be intensely positive by the Prussian blue 

 reaction. We have also known that the normoblasts surrounding this retic- 

 ular cell may contain stainablc particulate iron and have wondered if this 

 iron might not have been derived from the phagocytic reticular cell. Bessis' 

 excellent electron micrographs show death that the reticular cell is tunc- 



