Tissue eosinophils in ulcerative colitis.

A morphometric method has been used to quantitate eosinophils in the rectal lamina propria. The results from examination of paired biopsy specimens indicate that eosinophil distribution is uniform in the rectum. The number of eosinophils in specimens from patients with long-standing ulcerative colitis is significantly greater than that found in control subjects and increases with increasing clinical activity of the disease. In contrast, when biopsies are obtained from patients in a severe first attack of ulcerative colitis, eosinophil counts are not higher than in controls. The possible significance of these findings is discussed.