Dermatopathology part 1 Flashcards
What is Vitiligo? What disease is it typically associated with?
Chronic depigmenting condition from complete loss of epidermal melanocytes
Associated with pernicious anemia and hasimoto’s thyroiditis.
How does vitaligo cause depigmentation
Autoantibody against melanin concentration hormone receptor 1 in serum.
Presents on the 2nd or 3rd decades.
Higher in africans.
Predilection of vitiligo
Acral areas and orifices.
Presents as asymptomatic white macules with sharp borders that gradually enlarge.
Hair will also lose pigments.
Can see the lesions better under a wood’s lamp.
TX of vitiligo
slowly progressive, but 10-20% experience spontaneous regression.
some benefit with topical steroids, calcineruin inhibitors, and light therapy
Freckle (Ephelis)
Basal layer hyperpigmentation
appear after sun exposure in lighhtly pigmented kids
darken with sun expsoure
no risk of malignancy
Lentigo (lentigines)
Small (<1.0 cm) circumscribed brown macular lesions.
Hyperpigmentation of cells just above the basement membrane
unlike ephelides, lentigines do not darken with sun exposure.
Lentigo histology
The rete ridges are elongated and appear club shaped or tortuous. Melanocytes are increased in the basal layer and melanophages appear in the upper dermis.
Melanocytic nevi Gross features
tan to brown.
uniformly pigmented
small (usually <6mm in greatest dimension)
flat to elevated
well defined, rounded borders.
melanocytic nevi histology
sharply defined
well nested at the dermal epidermal junction
melanocytes mature as they descend in dermis
no deep mitoses
no deep pigment in melanocytic nests
Melanocytic nevi progression of maturation
junctional > compound > intradermal
Junctional melanocytic neves
melanocytic nests at the dermal epidermal junction
nests restricted to the tips and sides of rete.
compound melanocytic nevus
more raised and dome shaped than junctional nevus
histologic features of junctional nevus (intraepidermal nevus cell nets) + nests and cords of nevus cell in underlying dermis
as cells invade the dermis they mature and become smaller.
Dermal melanocytic nevus histology
epidermal nests are lost completly
spitz nevus description of what it presents cellularly
composed of spindle and/or epitheliod cells
dyskeratotic melanocytes (kamino bodies): eosinophilic bodies along dermal epidermal junction
sharply defined laterally
line symmetry from left to right
celfts separating nets from keratinocytes
Sptiz nevus. Who get this and describe what it looks like
common in children
deep red color may be confused with hemangiomas