Birefringence of Lymph Node Cells

Abstract

IN the course of work on the role of the lymphatic system in the rejection of homologous skin grafts, histological sections of rabbits' lymph nodes, prepared by a standard paraffin embedding technique, were viewed under the microscope between two crossed polarizing filters. In certain sections, the nuclei of many cells were strongly birefringent (Fig. 1a, b, c). Perusal of the literature and conferences with colleagues have failed to uncover a previous description of this phenomenon. Because this finding might aid in investigations of nuclear structure, it is thought appropriate to report on it at this stage.