Coruh G, McDougall A C
Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1979 Sep;47(3):500-11.
Skin biopsies from 100 patients with untreated lepromatous leprosy from Malaysia, India, Africa, and South America were examined with particular regard to pathological changes in intima, media, or adventitia of blood vessels and to the presence of leprosy bacilli in these layers. Bacilli were found in capillaries, venules, or arterioles in all cases, and in many instances they were present in endothelial lining cells or smooth muscle in large masses (globi). In several cases, solid-staining bacilli in endothelial lining cells were especially prominent. The findings are discussed in relation to a) the continuous bacteremia of lepromatous leprosy, b) the role of endothelial cells in phagocytosis, c) smooth muscle cells of the media as a site in which bacilli may persist, and d) the transmission of human leprosy by biting arthropods.
对来自马来西亚、印度、非洲和南美洲的100例未经治疗的瘤型麻风患者进行了皮肤活检，特别检查了血管内膜、中膜或外膜的病理变化以及这些层中麻风杆菌的存在情况。在所有病例中，均在毛细血管、小静脉或小动脉中发现了杆菌，在许多情况下，它们大量存在于内皮衬里细胞或平滑肌中（菌球）。在几例病例中，内皮衬里细胞中呈实性染色的杆菌尤为突出。结合以下几点对这些发现进行了讨论：a）瘤型麻风的持续性菌血症；b）内皮细胞在吞噬作用中的作用；c）中膜平滑肌细胞作为杆菌可能持续存在的部位；d）叮咬节肢动物传播人类麻风。
