- Source: 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.