Morphometry of normal human lymphoid tissues. Nuclear parameters for comparative studies of lymphoma

Prior to performing morphometric studies of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, baseline nuclear parameters of the various compartments of normal human lymphoid tissue are needed. Such information was obtained from traced nuclear profiles from a series of human lymph node biopsy specimens and samples of tonsil and spleen. All tissues showed reactive hyperplasia. In combined samples of adult lymph node specimens, nuclear parameters of mantle and paracortical lymphocytes were similar, but were smaller and more regular than small, unstimulated germinal center lymphocytes. Despite variation in mean nuclear size between various lymph node samples, transformed lymphocytes in germinal centers had a constant relationship to the nuclei of small untransformed lymphocytes in these regions. Our results indicate that there is considerable variation in the nuclear parameters of lymphocytes within a specific region of the normal lymph node of each case, but that such differences are difficult to appreciate in histologic preparations.