Lung piece obtained from a female patient with psittacosis by biopsy. A nuclear bodies of five different types were observed, depending on their degree of ultrastructural development. First type showed fibrillary nudear bodies surrounded by a clear halo. Type II resembled the nudear body of type I but showed heterogeneously electron density. Type III comprised nudear bodies with a fibrillary cortex containing a central granular component These bodies were separated from the nucleoplasm by a clear halo. Type IV was characterized by a more complex structure and resembled the nuclear body of type III but with dense osmiophilic granules. Nuclear bodies of type V were comprised of numerous osmiophilic granules.
The lung nudear bodies in psittacosis were compared to those described in the literature.