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Soft Tissue Tumors Part 3
Muscle, Vascular, Nerve, Other
Smooth muscle tumors - general
Author: Nat Pernick, M.D, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
Revised: 30 July 2009, last major update - July 2009
Copyright: (c) 2002-2009, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
Definition / micro description
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● Tumor cells resemble smooth muscle with easily visible, often fibrillar and eosinophilic cytoplasm, usually in long bundles or fascicles
● Nucleus is long, oval and round at both ends, often with cytoplasmic vacuole at one end, nucleoli are indistinct
● Minimal collagen present between smooth muscle cells
● Smooth muscle cells may resemble myofibroblasts with less cytoplasm, thinner nuclei, denser chromatin
● Note: smooth muscle tumors of skin, vulva/vagina, scrotum, nipple and other locations are described in these chapters
Micro images of normal smooth muscle
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Longitudinal Transverse
Positive stains
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● Trichrome stains the smooth muscle cytoplasm red and the collagen blue or green
● Actin, desmin and calponin stain smooth muscle, but are non-specific because they also stain myofibroblasts
● Smooth muscle myosin and h-caldesmon are more specific for smooth muscle versus myofibroblasts (Am J Dermatopathol 2006;28:105)
End of Soft Tissue Tumors Part 3 - Muscle, Vascular, Nerve, Other > Smooth muscle tumors - general
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