Selective loss of large lymphocytes from the marginal zone of the white pulp in rat spleens following a single dose of cyclophosphamide. A study using quantitative histological methods.

The effects of a single dose of cyclophosphamide (ranging from 12 x 5 mg/m2 to 500 mg/m2) on rat spleens have been studied using quantitative morphometric techniques. The results obtained show that a single dose of cyclophosphamide (500 mg/m2) caused the destruction of primary and secondary follicles and less extensive but significant (P < 0.01) loss of small lymphocytes from the periarteriolar lymphatic sheath. Despite early changes in the small lymphocytic zone, by 10 days after drug administration the most striking feature was the depletion of lymphoid cells from the marginal zones of the white pulp.