[Histologic studies of lymphatic tissue in sudden infant death]

The lymphatic tissues (lymph nodes, spleen, thymus) were examined in 79 children who had died between the ages of one week and two years old. 59 of these children could be categorized as Sudden Infant Death because of their history and postmortem findings. In the remaining 20 cases a definite cause of death could be established. The demonstrated morphological reaction patterns which have different functional significances were differentiated and examined in detail. These revealed a substantial increase in indications of the occurrence of an acute infection in the infant organism in cases of Sudden Infant Death when compared to the control cases. A defect in the immunesystem could not be demonstrated by classical histomorphological methods.