Myospherulosis complicating wound healing
Article Abstract:
The case is reported of a patient who developed myospherulosis, a complication of wound healing in which inflammation develops in association with small spherical bodies initially described as resembling a bag of marbles. While fungi seem a likely cause because of the appearance of the affected tissue, methods to stain for these organisms have not been successful. In 1978, it was discovered that the spherical bodies were actually red blood cells (erythrocytes) that had been affected by antibiotic treatment. The patient described pain in the face 14 years after a tooth extraction; X-ray and clinical studies led to several possible diagnoses besides myospherulosis, including malignant disease. When the area was surgically explored, a black, greasy material was discovered that did not dissolve in saline or formalin. The biopsy specimen contained the characteristic 'bag of marbles' structures, as well as cell debris and inflammatory cells. Whether myospherulosis develops because of the oral antibiotic itself or the petrolatum in which it is suspended is not known. It is likely that both components are necessary to produce these changes, which, as in the case discussed, may require many years to make themselves known. Tooth sockets of patients with abnormal X-rays and certain symptoms should be explored to determine whether myospherulosis is present. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of the American Dental Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-8177
Year: 1991
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A hypothetical explanation for the aging of skin. Chronologic alteration of the three-dimensional arrangement of collagen and elastic fibers in connective tissue
Article Abstract:
The three-dimensional arrangement and changes during the lifespan of the fibrous components of rat connective tissue were studied in order to understand how human skin ages. During growth after birth, there was a rearrangement of the collagen (protein) and elastic fibers: the collagen bundles achieved an ordered arrangement by distorting the relatively straight elastic fibers. During adulthood, the contorted elastic fiber network was further twisted and incompletely rebuilt so as to interlock with the collagen fibers. These changes help explain the laxity, sagging, and wrinkling of older skin. The tortuous twisting of the elastic fibers suggests that they have been stretched and lost their original elasticity such that they can no longer restore themselves to a short and straight form. The interlocking of the collagen and elastic fibers would disturb the two independent systems, thus changing the nature of the elastic fibers.
Publication Name: American Journal of Pathology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9440
Year: 1989
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