General and Systemic Histopathology, C601&C602
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Again, there is probably
no trouble seeing the tumor in this slide. It is obviously black
because it is a melanoma. They can occur in various places in the
eye but this is probably most common. See this slide with the virtual microscope. |
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This slide shows a primary malignant melanoma of the retina. Most of the histological features of this tumor are just like those of cutaneous melanomas. You will note a lot of pigment, so much so, in fact, that in many instances you won't be able to see the nuclear morphology of the malignant cells. The one curious feature of this tumor is its propensity to metastasize to the liver. I have actually heard, jokingly so, the term "ocular-hepatic" shunt applied to this property of retinal melanomas. For what it's worth, there are actually three sites where primary ocular melanomas arise: the retina, the iris and the conjunctiva. It is the retinal variety that frequently metastasizes to the liver, and often very early in the course of the disease. |