The “starry - sky pattern “ in Burkitt’s lymphoma is due to : 1. Sheets of neoplastic lymphoid cells. 2. Scattered macrophages •The neoplastic lymphoid cells are large with round or indented nucleus and 3 or 4 nucleoli with thin layer of basophilic cytoplasm. The tumor cells are closely apposed to each other forming a dark blue background (the ‘sky’). •The surrounding macrophages with abundant pale foamy cytoplasm are scattered among the tumour cells (the stars). Burkitt’s lymphoma is aggressive