CYTOMORPHOLOGY PATTERNS AND IMMUNOCHEMISTRY CHARACTERISTICS OF SPINDLE CELL LESION

Spindle cells are of mesenchymal origin and constitute part of the body's connective tissue [1]. The spindle cells are fusiform in shape with cytoplasmic extensions away from the nucleus. They vary in size with moderate amount of blue cytoplasm. The nucleus of the cell is round to oval in shape and has a smooth to fine lacy chromatin pattern. The nucleoli usually are not visible in non-neoplastic spindle cell but when the spindle cells are malignant, their nucleoli become more prominent, coarse chromatin, basophilic cytoplasm with increase nuclear cytoplasmic ratio [2]. Some of the cells which exhibit spindle morphology are fibroblast, myofibroblast, smooth muscle cells, myoepithelial cells, perineural cells, pericytes, schwann cells and myoepithelial cells [3]