The histopathology of the spleen from a patient with lepromatous leprosy.

The histopathology of the spleen from a young man with diffuse non-nodular lepromatous leprosy is reported. As judged by this case, other case reports, and necropsy series, involvement of the spleen in lepromatous leprosy is characterized by aggregations of large vacuolated histiocytes, containing individual bacilli and globi, in both the red and white pulp. In the white pulp the histiocytes localize about the arterioles. Findings in the present case, which may represent a comparatively early change, include numerous, small germinal centers containing nonaggregated large, vacuolated histiocytes with intracellular bacilli.