unidentified cell type associated with an inflammatory condition of the subcutaneous connective tissue in dab, Limanda limanda L

During a research cruise in the central North Sea a hitherto undescribed disease of dab, L. limanda , was observed. The disease was identified as an inflammatory condition of the subcutaneous connective tissue. Electron microscopy showed degenerative changes in amoeboid cells occuring in strands or clusters throughout the inflamed areas. Although there are many similarities in the morphology of the "amoeboid" cells from dab and their location in the tissue to the "x cells" present in the early stages of Pacific flatfish papillomas, there are no indications that the inflammatory nodules in dab are early stages of papillomas.