[The morphology of mesenteric lymph nodes in Whipple's disease].

A patient aged 45 suffering from Whipple's disease is described. The disease has been diagnosed on the basis of morphologic examination of a biopsy specimen of the small intestine mesenteric lymph node. The patient had suffered from the disease for 14 years; during the last 6 months he developed symptoms of the malabsorption syndrome with diarrhea and steatorrhea. The lymph nodes contained numerous macrophages with PAS-positive glycoprotein granules in the cytoplasm, small cavities filled with lipids; electron microscopy has revealed bacillus-like bodies in the macrophages and outside the cells. After the disease has been diagnosed, the patient has been administered a course of tetracycline therapy, that resulted in an improvement of his status.