Ultrastructure of renal glomerular hematoxylin bodies

Hematoxylin bodies are considered to be the only pathognomonic feature of systemic lupus erythematosus. In this paper, the ultrastructure of hematoxylin bodies is described in a patient with active lupus glomerulonephritis. For identification of hematoxylin bodies, electron micrographs at low magnification were compared with hematoxylin-eosin-stained, Epon-embedded sections from the same block. One electron micrograph at low magnification displayed a whole glomerulus. The bodies were then studied under higher magnification. Hematoxylin bodies were usually in and around the mesangial cells or in the monocytes in mesangial areas. The bodies appeared to contain elements of cellular origin, i.e., aggregates of clumped chromatin, degenerated granules, vesicles, and vacuoles. Sometimes they also contained electron-dense substances of the same density as electron-dense deposits in the mesangial and subendothelial areas.