reticuloendotheliosis

A superseded term for neoplasia of hemopoietic precursors. See also blast form of erythremic myelosis.

• avian r. — a group of diseases of poultry caused by the REV group of retroviruses, and includes a chronic neoplastic disease of turkeys and chickens, a runting disease in chickens accidentally injected with the virus, and possibly an acute reticulum cell neoplasia. The chronic neoplasia is manifested by nodular tumors in visceral organs.
• feline r. — see erythremic myelosis, myeloproliferative disease.
• leukemic r. — leukemia marked by splenomegaly and by an abundance of large, mononuclear abnormal cells with numerous, irregular cytoplasmic projections that give them a flagellated or hairy appearance in the bone marrow, spleen, liver and peripheral blood; called also hairy-cell leukemia.