Skip to main content

Infective Conditions of the Lymph Node (Lymphadenitis)

(This is another continuation of the Sabah Lymphoma talk -- first and second part)

I. Toxoplasma

  • Three features:
    • Follicular hyperplasia.
    • Epithelioid histiocytes.
    • Monocytoid B cells in sinusoids.
  • Enlarged germinal centre (still have mantle zone and tingible body macrophages)
II. Viral
  • Partial architectural effacement with expanded paracortex.
  • Polymorphous cellularity.
  • Mottled histological appearance with marked follicular hyperplasia.
  1. Infectious mononucleosis
    • Expanded paracortez with heterogenous population.
    • Increased blood vessels.
    • Presence of immunoblasts that mimic Reed-Sternberg cells.
    • Hyperplastic follicles.
  2. Herpes simplex virus
    • Mixed cell population.
    • Reed-Sternberg-;ole activated lymphocytes.
    • Apoptotic cells and neutrophils.
  3. HIV
    • Early: present with acute reactive lymphadenitis.
    • Late: present with marked CD4+ T-cell depletion, and involution of lymph nodes.
    • 3 phases:
      1. Acute
        • Non-specific, more to viral lymphadenitis, eg paracortical expansion.
      2. Transition
        • Disruption of normal architecture, germinal centre smaller, excessive pool of blood vessels.
      3. Burn-out
        • Atrophic.
III. Bacterial
  • Composed of sinus expansion.
  • May contain proteinaceous fluids or microabscesses
  • eg Cat-scratch disease, tuberculosis.
Below is not an infective condition but important anyway:

Epithelial cell inclusion in lymph node
  • May include squamous, thyroid, mammary glands
  • Must differentiate from metastasis.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

8 L's and DRUGS

I am so happy that I found an educational gem by Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology , a private pathology lab in Australia.  There are some videos of live lectures that one can find here.  I am particularly excited (and maybe starstruck) to find Professor  David Weedon's lectures here -- as I am particularly fond for Dermatopathology. A particular thing I learned today from Professor David Weedon was a checklist mnemonic for perivascular infiltrate in the skin: 8L's and DRUGS Light reaction Lymphoma (and pseudo) Leprosy Lues Lichen striatus Lupus erythematosus Lipoidica (and incomplete granuloma annulare) Lepidoptera (arthropods etc) Dermatophyte Reticular erthymatous mucinosis Urticaria Gyrate erythema Scleroderma

How to gross a Whipple's specimen

Just mentioning presence of a Whipple's specimen in the lab would bring throngs of histopathology trainees to observe the grossing of the specimen.  It is associated with intimidating combination of organs, many margins to remember, and last but definitely not least, the lament of a trainee saying: "Where is the tumour??" When I was a second year Pathology Masters student (first year Histopathology trainee), a senior trainee taught us a simplified way to gross a Whipple's specimen.  It is the same as any other textbook, but the lack of wordiness (as compared to the textbook) make it less intimidating.                                                            (Picture from www.pancreapedia.org) 1. Margins Stomach (proximal margin) Duodenum (distal margin) Uncinate (Soft tissue margin) Anterior pancreas Common...

Autopsy exam

Autopsy exam is a necessity for a trainee anatomic pathologist to pass the final exam, but it is quite a pain to study for it.  I found some brief notes (and possible exam questions) to survive the exam. Assessment: History Gross findings Dissect all organs Make sure dissection area is clean. Cause of death and correlation. How does one diagnose pneumothorax on autopsy? Dissect out the circle of Willis. How to measure ventricular thickness. Answer: 1 cm below the atrioventricular valve How to differentiate between kidney abscess and pyonephrosis. Kidney abscess is usually located at the renal cortex. How to take swabs (from any sites) How to take blood samples. Answer: from femoral vein or right atrium. How to take urine sample. Answer: suprapubic Spleen may also show hyaline arteriosclerosis, like kidneys (hypertensive change). Renal papillary necrosis is common in diabetes mellitus. ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome) is a manifestation of ...