Pleomorphism is a term used in

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vi ...

and

cytopathology Cytopathology (from Greek , ''kytos'', "a hollow"; , ''pathos'', "fate, harm"; and , '' -logia'') is a branch of pathology that studies and diagnoses diseases on the cellular level. The discipline was founded by George Nicolas Papanicolaou in ...

to describe variability in the size, shape and staining of

cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...

s and/or their nuclei. Several key determinants of cell and nuclear size, like ploidy and the regulation of cellular

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run c ...

, are commonly disrupted in tumors. Therefore, cellular and nuclear pleomorphism is one of the earliest hallmarks of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

progression and a feature characteristic of

malignant neoplasms Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

and dysplasia. Certain

benign Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse. Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not s ...

cell types may also exhibit pleomorphism, e.g.

neuroendocrine cell Neuroendocrine cells are cells that receive neuronal input (through neurotransmitters released by nerve cells or neurosecretory cells) and, as a consequence of this input, release messenger molecules (hormones) into the blood. In this way they bri ...

s, Arias-Stella reaction. A rare type of

rhabdomyosarcoma Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a highly aggressive form of cancer that develops from mesenchymal cells that have failed to fully differentiate into myocytes of skeletal muscle. Cells of the tumor are identified as rhabdomyoblasts. There are four subt ...

that is found in adults is known as pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma. Despite the prevalence of pleomorphism in human pathology, its role in disease progression is unclear. In epithelial tissue, pleomorphism in cellular size can induce packing defects and disperse aberrant cells. But the consequence of atypical cell and nuclear morphology in other tissues is unknown.

References

{{pathology-stub Histology Pathology Cell biology

See also

References