1. Erythrocytes with membrane abnormalities seen on interference contrast microscopy ('pitted erythrocytes') were counted in venous blood samples from patients with treated coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis, and from control subjects and patients who had had an elective splenectomy. 2. The percentage of 'pitted erythrocytes' was compared with the 99mTc-labelled heat-damaged erythrocyte clearance, and with the splenic size computed from scintiscans. 3. There was a significant correlation between percentage 'pitted erythrocytes' and the above methods of measuring splenic function and size. Increase in the percentage of 'pitted erythrocytes' above the control range indicated splenic hypofunction. 4. The number of coeliac patients with percentage 'pitted erythrocytes' above the control range increased with increasing age at which they started a gluten-free diet. 5. Counting of 'pitted erythrocytes' is a simple and sensitive method of assessing splenic hypofunction in treated coeliac disease. It avoids radiation exposure, and is applicable to all ages and repeatable without risk. 6. The incidence of splenic hypofunction in coeliac patients may be related to the duration of untreated disease.

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Vitamin K and its analogues are frequently used in treatment of the hypoprothrombinaemia found in disease of the liver, biliary tract and small intestine. Most cases of cutaneous toxicity to vitamin K have been described in the French literature, but only two cases from Britain. This paper reports six patients with chronic liver disease who developed cutaneous reactions around the site of injection of vitamin K, and the results of investigations to futher understanding of the pathogenesis of the rash.

SUMMARY Rosetting techniques were used to estimate T and B cell subpopulations in the peripheral blood in patients with treated and untreated adult coeliac disease and in control subjects. In patients with untreated coeliac disease, T cell numbers were significantly lower than in controls or treated patients, although there was no difference in total lymphocyte counts. There was no significant difference in B cell numbers between treated and untreated patients, and the subpopulation which increased to replace the T cells in untreated patients comprised cells not identified by B or T cell markers. Total lymphocyte counts and lymphocyte subpopulations were affected by splenic atrophy. It is suggested that these effects might be caused by the loss of lymphocytes from the gastrointestinal tract in untreated coeliac disease.