Bone marrow phagocytosis in sarcoidosis.

The phagocytic activity of the bone marrow monocytes and macrophages was studied in 22 patients with sarcoidosis, 28 patients with Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's malignant neoplasms, and 14 controls. Although phagocytosis of RBCs and WBCs and platelets were seen in all bone marrow specimens, the activity was considerably increased in some patients with stage I and stage II sarcoidosis. This observation may reflect the presence of an unusual host response to unknown antigens in patients with sarcoidosis.