Skip to main content
Gut logoLink to Gut
. 1971 Jul;12(7):509–518. doi: 10.1136/gut.12.7.509

Electron microscopy in Crohn's disease 1

A P R Aluwihare
PMCID: PMC1411857  PMID: 5559139

Abstract

An electron microscopic study of Crohn's disease of the colon is presented. The positive findings that supplement those obtained by light microscopy are: a prominent nucleolus is more common in the lymphocytes of Crohn's disease than in normal lymphocytes or those found in cases of ulcerative colitis; lymphocytes are often observed close to macrophages and epithelioid cells; the epithelioid cells are metabolically active, and have vesicles which contain acid phosphatase but little visible debris; intramural bacteria were identified in six of the 11 specimens of colon with intact epithelia and minimal inflammatory changes.

The possible significance of these findings for the pathogenesis of the disease is discussed.

Full text

PDF
516

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Albot G., Parturier-Albot M., Camilleri J. P., Diebold J. La maladie de Crohn colique. IV. Etude cytologique et ultrastructurale des infiltrats inflammatoires plasmocytaires et épithélio-giganto-cellulaires. Sem Hop. 1970 May 14;46(23):1545–1566. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aluwihare A. P. An ultrastructural study of the effect of neomycin on the colon in the human subject and in the conventional and the germ-free mouse. Gut. 1971 May;12(5):341–349. doi: 10.1136/gut.12.5.341. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Aluwihare A. P. The ultrastructure of the colon on Crohn's disease. Proc R Soc Med. 1971 Feb;64(2):162–164. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. CHEARS W. C., Jr, ASHWORTH C. T. Electron microscopic study of the intestinal mucosa in Whipple's disease. Demonstration of encapsulated bacilliform bodies in the lesion. Gastroenterology. 1961 Aug;41:129–138. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Corrin B., Clark A. E., Spencer H. Ultrastructural localization of acid phosphatase in the rat lung. J Anat. 1969 Jan;104(Pt 1):65–70. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Donnellan W. L. Early histological changes in ulcerative colitis. A light and electron microscopic study. Gastroenterology. 1966 Apr;50(4):519–540. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Elias P. M., Epstein W. L. Ultrastructural observations on experimentally induced foreign-body and organized epithelioid-cell granulomas in man. Am J Pathol. 1968 Jun;52(6):1207–1223. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gonzalez-Licea A., Yardley J. H. Nature of the tissue reaction in ulcerative colitis. Light and electron microscopic findings. Gastroenterology. 1966 Nov;51(5):825–840. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Jones J. V., Housley J., Ashurst P. M., Hawkins C. F. Development of delayed hypersensitivity to dinitrochlorobenzene in patients with Crohn's disease. Gut. 1969 Jan;10(1):52–56. doi: 10.1136/gut.10.1.52. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kalima T. V., Collan Y. Intestinal villus in experimental lymphatic obstruction. Correlation of light and electron microscopic findings with clinical diseases. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1970;5(6):497–510. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mitchell D. N., Rees R. J. Agent transmissible from Crohn's disease tissue. Lancet. 1970 Jul 25;2(7665):168–171. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(70)92532-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Takeuchi A., Sprinz H., LaBrec E. H., Formal S. B. Experimental bacillary dysentery. An electron microscopic study of the response of the intestinal mucosa to bacterial invasion. Am J Pathol. 1965 Dec;47(6):1011–1044. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Walker J. G., Greaves M. F. Delayed hypersensitivity and lymphocyte transformation in Crohn's disease and proctocolitis. Gut. 1969 May;10(5):414–414. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Watson J. H., Haubrich W. S. Bacilli bodies in the lumen and epithelium of the jejunum in Whipple's disease. Lab Invest. 1969 Oct;21(4):347–357. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Williams D., Williams W. J., Williams J. E. Enzyme histochemistry of epithelioid cells in sarcoidosis and sarcoid-like granulomas. J Pathol. 1969 Apr;97(4):705–709. doi: 10.1002/path.1710970416. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Gut are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES