RADIAL SEGMENTATION OF LEUKOCYTE NUCLEI IN SOME RHEUMATIC DISORDERS

Heat-induced radial segmentation of leukocyte nuclei is a phenomenon r eported to occur in various inflammatory diseases. In order to explore its potential diagnostic value, we studied the occurrence of this phe nomenon in 32 subjects with rheumatic inflammatory diseases, 14 subjec ts with noninflammatory diseases, and 15 healthy individuals. We did n ot observe any statistically significant difference in the extent of r adial segmentation between the patient subgroups and the controls. We suggest that the phenomenon of heat-induced radial segmentation cannot be regarded as a helpful tool in the diagnosis of rheumatic diseases.