Cowdry bodies

Cowdry bodies are eosinophilic or basophilic nuclear inclusions composed of nucleic acid and protein seen in cells infected with Herpes simplex virus, Varicella-zoster virus, and Cytomegalovirus. They are named after Edmund Cowdry.

There are two types of intranuclear Cowdry bodies:

• Type A (as seen in herpes simplex and VZV)
• Type B (as seen in infection with poliovirus and CMV), though it may seem that this is an antiquated and perhaps illusory type.

Light microscopy is used for detection of Cowdry bodies.

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