LYMPHOGENOUS (LYMPHATIC) LEUKEMIA

Abstract

Lymphogenous leukemia comprises a group of pathologic states which have as their common attribute disordered and continued proliferation of lymphocyteforming tissue not limited in response to any recognized irritant or other stimulus and manifested by continuous or intermittent alteration in the lymphocytes of the circulating blood. Until the possible relations of leukemia to neoplastic, metabolic and infectious diseases have received greater elucidation no classification of the types of lymphogenous leukemia can be wholly satisfactory. The lack of other bases for the differentiation of leukemic lymphogenesis has led to reliance by many authors on clinical criteria, such as the apparent course of the disease and the gross regional involvement. The shortcomings of such a classification as a guide both to prognosis and to therapy are made evident by the study in retrospect of any considerable number of cases. The application of methods for the differential staining of fixed blood films, supplemented