[Electron microscopical investigation of rhinoscleroma (author's transl)]

Abstract

A boy from Togo with a resistent Rhinoscleroma was observed. The specific granuloma was examinated by histological and electron microscopic methods. The plasma cells form fibrillary material or guttate Russel bodies in the rough endoplasmatic reticulum. The morphology of Mikulicz-cells and Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis is described. The cells are supposed to be (histiocytic) macrophages. The surface of the germs is coated with a fimbria-like radiate substance which in the vacuoles of the cells is crosslinked. This material could be the eliciting antigen for the formation of Russel bodies. These bodies then may represent immune substances bound within the cell.