The histopathology of lesions in the bone marrow of patients having active brucellosis.

LTHOUGH it has been known for many years that brucella may invade the bone marrow, there is a paucity of precise information concerning the pathological changes that take place in this organ as a result of brucellosis. The available descriptions have resulted from a study of human material obtained at autopsy and investigations of tissues from experimentally infected animals. The present study of the lesions in the bone marrow is based upon aspirations of the sternal marrow from patients having active brucellosis which was proved bacteriologically in 8 of 9 cases. The cases described appear to be the first in which a detailed study of the bone marrow obtained from living human subjects with brucellosis has been made. These investigations constitute part of a general program aimed at clarifying the pathogenesis of human brucellosis and, also, have resulted from attempts to add further aid in the diagnosis of chronic brucellosis.