cytologic study of macrophages in cutaneous leishmaniasis

ABSTRACT

Exfoliative cytology smears from the lesions of 179 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis due to L. tropica were studied with specific reference to cellular reactions and their effect on the parasite. Aggregates of the parasite [so-called Leishman bodies] were present within macrophages and in some fibroblasts. The nature of the inflammatory cells present in the smears was correlated with the number of Leishman bodies contained within them and the percentages of small lymphocytes, neutrophils and type I macrophages present. It is postulated that aggregates of activated macrophages [designated types II and III] and the Leishman milieu [sticky matrix] protect the Leishman parasites from being eradicated by the inflammatory and immune reactions