[Associated action of the measles and mumps viruses on the lymphatic apparatus of guinea pigs].

The immunomorphological and cytopathological properties of vaccine strains of measles and epidemic mumps viruses inoculated individually and together were studied in experiments in guinea pigs. The optimal doses of measles and mumps monovaccines were found to produce morphological changes of similar intensity in the lymphatic apparatus of guinea pigs. Measles virus stimulated increased alterative changes in lymphoid elements with increased inoculations; mumps virus produced maximum degeneration of the cells immediately after the first inoculation. The combined injection of both viruses enhanced proliferation of lymphoid cells, the extent of their alteration and the frequency of pathological mitoses more than each monovaccine individually. The increased frequency of pathological mitoses occurred mainly due to moderate non-lethal changes in mitosis in which there was a likelihood of the appearance of viable cells with an altered karyotype.