MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Mononucleosis, photomicrograph of cells

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Mononucleosis, photomicrograph of cells

This is a lymphocyte that has been infected by the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) or Cytomegalovirus (CMV) in infectious mononucleosis and is referred to as a "Downy cell". Downy cells may be classified as types I, II, or III; this is a type I Downy cell.

Update Date: 5/3/2006

Updated by: Michael C. Milone, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA.

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