[Examination of the peripheral blood in 100 dermatology cases]

Routine examination under the electron microscope of lymphocytes from peripheral blood in 100 patients with skin disease and 20 healthly controls, was carried out seeking branched tubular inclusions of lupus type and lymphocytes with an indented or cribriform nucleus, and gave the following results: -Presence of inclusions of lupus type in 8 cases (4 cases of systemic lupus out of 15 examined, 1 case of sclerodermatomyositis, 3 lymphomas of the skin). These results confirm previous studies carried out in cases of collagen disease and, in addition, demonstrate branched tubular inclusions in lymphomas, they emphasize the importance of the lymphocyte as common denominator in man, in both auto-immune diseases and in lymphoma.-The presence of cells with an indented, or cribriform nucleus in 12 cases out of 100 patients (8 cases of Sézary syndrome out of 8; 4 cases of mycosis fungoides out of 12). Lymphoma deposits were never found outside the skin. -A second type of cytoplasmiclymphocytic inclusion, with a lamellar appearance, has already been described by Hovig and was noted in 13 cases out of 120 biopsies in various diseases and in 2 healthy controls. These were perhaps artifacts.