[Morphological analysis of synovial exsudate in rheumatoid arthritis. II. Transmission electron microscopy]

Synovial exsudate cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Most of them represented polymorphous leukocytes. They contained vacuoles full of material reminding of immune complexes (in addition to typical granules) and plentiful alpha and beta glycogen granules. Some lymphoid cells nuclei were alike to those of Sézary disease with frequent ring-shaped nucleoli and enlarged mitochondria. Variegated non-lymphoid mononuclear cells had lateralized nuclei with marginated chromatin, mitochondria with sparse crists, short membranes of reticulum, conspicuous cisterns in trans-Golgi area and lysosomes with myeline bodies as a sign of big capacity of phagocytosis. Importance of using transmission electron microscopy in analysis of synovial exudate was discussed.