[Monoclonal gammopathies: classification of laboratory tests]

Monoclonal gammopathies have been examined and classified. In the field of chemico-clinical and immunological investigations, the various methods of analysing dysproteinaemia, of which the monoclonal component is a typical expression (electrophoresis, radial immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, immunofixation), and the main haematological and immunohaematological changes (lymphocyte biological markers) involved are reviewed. After describing the main histological and histo-cytochemical investigations, particularly amyloidosis, electronic microscope aspects and the most important chromosome abnormalities revealed by karyotype study are reported for their diagnostic interest.