Status lymphaticus, otherwise known as the lymphatic constitution, lymphatic diathesis, lymphatism, etc., is a so-called constitutional disorder, characterized by a persistence or hyperplasia of the thymus, general lymphadenoid hyperplasia, frequently associated with cardiac and arterial hypoplasia, and evidences of rachitis. The principal morbid anatomic features of status lymphaticus are a persistent or hypertrophie thymus, general or regional lymphadenoid hyperplasia including the lymphoid elements of the spleen, hypoplasia of the arteries and heart, very often with the osseous changes of rachitis. Occasional or accessory features are a thick skin, edema of the skin, lungs or brain, hypertrophie thyroid, hypertrophy of the brain, hypoplasia of the sexual organs, and lymphocytosis. A pronounced general active hyperemia is usually discovered in lymphatic individuals dying suddenly.
That there is a close morbid anatomic association between status lymphaticus and rickets has been abundantly proven, particularly in the case of lymphatic infants. Still we are not at