Spectral histopathology of lymph nodes

This delay presents an enormous emotional stress to the patient and postpones the onset of treatment such as chemo- or radiation therapy. 

We now turn to an anatomical description of lymph nodes. The lymph node is surrounded by a thick, fibrous capsule and is subdivided into compartments by trabeculae. Inside the capsule is the subcapsular or marginal sinus, which forms the entry point of lymphatic fluid into the node, via the afferent vessel. The lymph node cortex, which lies beneath the subcapsular sinus, is the location of the primary and secondary lymphoid follicles. The primary follicles are comprised of B-lymphocytes. An immune response stimulates B-cells to replicate and differentiate, converting the primary follicle into a secondary follicle or germinal center, surrounded by a zone of small lymphocytes. The paracortex surrounds the germinal centers and primary follicles and contains mostly T-lymphocytes. The medulla is composed of medullary cords, consisting of macrophages and plasma cells, and medullary sinuses. The medullary vessels include the arteries and veins, and the afferent and efferent lymphatic vessels, respectively, deliver the lymphatic fluid into and out of the lymph node. 

At present, two problems persist for the clinical application of IR spectral imaging methods. One of them is the enormous size of the datasets. In order to image an entire lymph node section, about 5x5 mm2 in size, on the order of 200 x 200, or 40000, individual spectra are collected. Although the data acquisition presents little problem and could be performed with existing array detector-based spectrometers within a few minutes, the data reduction by HCA takes over a day, even when using powerful personal computers such as the 64 bit AMD processor in our laboratory. The situation will undoubtedly improve tremendously when true 64 bit, WINDOWS-based operating system will be available to address the enormous 

---