Cytological studies of the pathogenesis of chronic lymphatic leukaemia [25]

WHEN blood lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphatic leukaemia are examined in Romanovsky stained preparations they show remarkable uniformity in size and appearance and resemble small lymphocytes of healthy individuals. On the other hand, as the basis of other criteria, such as transformation by phytohaemagglutinin¹ or retention on columns of polystyrene beads², there are differences. To explain these differences it has been proposed that normal and abnormal lymphocytes coexist in the peripheral blood in chronic lymphatic leukaemia^2-4. These studies, however, have not ruled out the possibility that the "abnormal" cell is a type that usually occurs in non-leukaemic subjects, but is found in different proportions in this disease.