The process of regulating the proliferation and elimination of lymphocytes such that the total number of lymphocytes within a whole or part of an organism is stable over time in the absence of an outside stimulus. [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16551252 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16319493 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16551262 GOC:add http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15826826 ]