Forum for Clinical and Surgical Oral Pathology

Case BBOPF 03-9

The following case was contributed by Dr. John Kalmar (Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, College of Dentistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA). Dr. Kalmar is requesting your comments for the ensuing case, in particular, the collagen fibers arrangement seen underneath a broad based rete peg depicted in the ensuing images (is there a dermatological lesion where this peculiar collagen pattern is observed ?) . Please send your comments in the window located below the images. This case was posted from December 5 to December 19, 2003. A summary of the responses will be posted in BBOP.

Clinical History

53 yr old female presented with a several week history of sensitive areas of the dorsal tongue. Clinical examination revealed multiple flat circular white spots (1-2 mm) of the mid-dorsal tongue (never quite reaching the lateral border) that seemed to coalesce in some areas, occasionally making U-shaped figures. A biopsy was interpreted by a general pathologist as "consistent with leukoplakia."

Representative microscopic images of this case are shown below.

Images

H &E, Low Power [Click for a larger image]	H &E, Low Power [Click for a larger image]	H &E, Medium Power [Click for a larger image]	H &E, High Power [Click for a larger image]
Microscopy

THIS IS AN ACADEMIC EXERCISE ONLY. THE REPLIES ARE NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS THOSE OF A CONSULTANT FOR LEGAL PURPOSES.

Case prepared by Dr. Alfredo Aguirre and Daniel Emmer (Web Administrator, University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine).