Low power view of an abdominal desmoid

Low power view of an abdominal desmoid •This image is best viewed in association with the image labelled dermal fibroblasts 10X.Gif. •Notice that in contrast to the normal dermal collagen, there are relatively few mature, wavy, homogeneously eosinophilic staining collegen bundles in this field. •Normal dermal collagen will contain relatively few nuclei in a field of this size. •In the desmoid tumor, however, this particular field can be seen to contain an multitude of nuclei which are considerably larger than those of resting fibroblasts. •The size of the nuclei, as well as the cellularity of this field reflects the level of activity of this lesion. •There is some controversy whether this lesion represents a true neoplasm or an over-reactive reparative response to injury. (Description By:T.V.Rajan, M.D. ) (Image Contrib. by:T.V.Rajan, M.D. UCHC )