ABSTRACT
The lymphoreticular system is involved in the defence of the body against microorganisms and foreign substances, i.e. the immune response. The bone marrow is severely hypocellular, whereas the peripheral blood shows pancytopenia, the cells present being mostly normal in appearance. In thalassaemia, the failure of haemoglobin synthesis is aggravated by haemolysis of the abnormal red cells. A decreased neutrophil count or complete lack of neutrophils may be due to decreased myelopoiesis or excessive destruction of white cells. The proliferating malignant cells crowd out the normal haematopoietic elements, leading to anaemia, infections, and bleeding. The nodules were composed of large numbers of small lymphocytes, histiocytes, neutrophil polymorphs, eosinophils, and plasma cells. Follicular lymphomas (FLs) are tumours derived from germinal centre cells, and they at least partially retain a follicular architecture. FLs usually arise within lymph nodes, and are often found to be disseminated at presentation, with involvement of multiple nodes, spleen, and bone marrow.
