White cells, lymph nodes, spleen and thymus
Reactive nodes, leukaemias, lymphomas, plasma cell and myeloid neoplasms, spleen and thymus.
29 pages
Lesion
- Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia/lymphomaThe commonest childhood cancer: immature lymphocytes fill the marrow and push out normal blood…
- Acute myeloid leukaemiaImmature myeloid cells fill the marrow within weeks, causing anaemia, infections and bleeding
- Acute promyelocytic leukaemiaA leukaemia that bleeds: abnormal promyelocytes trigger clotting and fibrinolysis, but a vitamin…
- Burkitt lymphomaOne of the fastest-growing human tumours: B cells driven by MYC, with a starry-sky pattern
- Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL/SLL)A slow cancer of small mature B cells in older adults
- Chronic myeloid leukaemiaOne swapped chromosome makes a kinase that never switches off
- Diffuse large B-cell lymphomaThe commonest aggressive lymphoma: sheets of large B cells grow fast in a node or organ
- Diseases of the thymusThe thymus can fail to form, grow lymphoid follicles in autoimmune disease, or give rise to…
- Essential thrombocythaemia and primary myelofibrosisTwo marrow neoplasms with the same genes: one makes too many platelets, the other scars the…
- Follicular lymphomaA slow-growing lymphoma of germinal centre B cells that cannot die because they make too much…
- Hairy cell leukaemia: BRAF V600E, the dry tap and the red-pulp spleenA rare, slow B-cell leukaemia of middle-aged men with fine hair-like projections, a huge spleen…
- Histiocytic disorders: HLH and Langerhans cell histiocytosisTwo very different disorders of histiocytes: a reactive cytokine storm that eats blood cells…
- Hodgkin lymphomaA lymphoma in which a few large tumour cells hide among many normal inflammatory cells
- Mantle cell lymphoma: cyclin D1, CD5 and lymphomatous polyposisA lymphoma of the B cells that ring the germinal centre
- Marginal zone lymphomasSlow lymphomas that grow where chronic infection or autoimmunity keeps B cells stimulated; early…
- Multiple myelomaCancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow: it eats bone, raises calcium, harms the kidneys and…
- Myelodysplastic neoplasmsA marrow full of faulty cells that die before leaving: the blood is low, the marrow is busy, and…
- Neutropenia and agranulocytosisToo few neutrophils leave the body open to bacteria and fungi
- Nodal T-cell lymphomasUncommon, mostly aggressive lymphomas of mature T cells that arise in lymph nodes
- Other lesions of the spleenThe spleen can lose its blood supply, tear, carry rare tumours or extra small spleens, and when…
- Polycythaemia and polycythaemia veraToo many red cells: sometimes only too little plasma, sometimes a response to low oxygen, and…
- Reactive leukocytosisA high white count is usually the body reacting to infection, allergy or stress
- Reactive lymphadenitis: the patternsLymph nodes swell when they fight
- Splenomegaly and hypersplenismA spleen grows when it works harder, holds back blood, is invaded by cells or stores material
- T- and NK-cell leukaemias and extranodal lymphomasT and NK cells can become cancers of the blood, skin or nose
Topic
- Myeloproliferative neoplasms: overviewMarrow stem cells with a stuck-on growth signal make too many mature blood cells
- Plasma cell disorders: MGUS to myelomaA clone of plasma cells makes one antibody (an M protein)
- White-cell neoplasms: classificationBlood cancers are sorted by the cell they come from and where they live
Mechanism
A to Z
Educational content on the mechanisms of disease; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for a health professional's advice. No doses are given.
Representative model, for educational purposes only.