[Ultrastructure of blood lymphocytes in dairy cows with chronic lymphocytic leukemia].
The morphology of blood lymphocytes was studied ultrastructurally in cows with chronical lymphocytic leucosis (CLL) and in healthy controls. A significantly higher occurrence of the so-called nuclear pockets in the leucaemic lymphocytes was found (13.8% v. 0.83% in healthy animals). The surfaces of lymphocytes were stained with ruthenium red; this showed the possibility of differentiating two distinct populations of lymphocytes in peripheral blood. In this way, a prevalence of B-lymphocytes, constituting 89.7% of all lymphocytes, was demonstrated in animals suffering from CLL.