LEUKEMIC RETICULO-ENDOTHELIOSIS (MONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA): WITH REPORT OF CASES

More or less generalized involvement of the reticuloendothelial system is found in various pathologic conditions, which can be fairly well grouped under the following headings: Storage histiocytomatosis — Gaucher's disease, Pick-Niemann disease, xanthomatosis and, sometimes, diabetic lipemia. Granulomatosis—Hodgkin's disease. Hyperplasia—reticulo-endotheliosis. (A) Leukemic reticulo-endotheliosis (monocytic or histiocytic leukemia) with or without blastoma formation. (B) Aleukemic reticulo-endotheliosis with or without blastoma formation—response to infection (?) or true systemic disease (?). 4. Tumors—reticulum cell lymphosarcoma. The conditions classified under 1, 2 and 4 are fairly well defined, but considerable discussion has arisen concerning reticulo-endotheliosis. The pathologic changes in the cases described are nearly uniformly constant and consist chiefly of a diffuse proliferation primarily of the reticulum cells and sometimes of the endothelial cells in the hematopoietic system, chiefly in the spleen and lymph nodes, and in most of the other viscera. Some investigators, notably Sternberg, maintain that the condition is merely an atypical response to