White pulp

White pulp
Transverse section of a portion of the spleen. (Lymphatic nodule labeled at center right.)
Spleen
Latin	noduli lymphoidei splenici
Gray's	subject #278 1285
Artery	trabecular artery
Vein	trabecular vein
Precursor	mesoderm

White pulp is a histological region of the spleen. The altered coat of the arterioles, consisting of adenoid tissue, presents here and there thickenings of a spheroidal shape, the white pulp (Malpighian bodies of the spleen, splenic lymphoid nodules).

These bodies vary in size from about 0.25 mm. to 1 mm. in diameter.

They are merely local expansions or hyperplasia of the adenoid tissue, of which the external coat of the smaller arteries of the spleen is formed.

They are most frequently found surrounding the arteriole, which thus seems to tunnel them, but occasionally they grow from one side of the vessel only, and present the appearance of a sessile bud growing from the arterial wall.

Typically associated with the arteriole supply of the spleen; forming what are called periarterial lymphatic sheaths (PALS).

See also

• spleen
• lymph node
• marginal zone

External links

• Histology at BU 07703loa
• White+pulp at eMedicine Dictionary
• Swiss embryology (from UL, UB, and UF) qblood/lymphat06
• Anatomy Atlases - Microscopic Anatomy, plate 09.174 - "Spleen: White Pulp splenic nodule"

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.