A forum dedicated to the expansion in neuropathology knowledge for students and practitioners alike.
Mystery case reviews #4 and #5 are two of a series of videos designed to review the variety of brain tumors that arise in the context of a familial tumor syndromes. Test your knowledge with questions posed to the audience in a quiz like format. In-depth answers are provided for each quiz question. This series... Continue Reading →
Cranial nerve schwannomas most commonly arise from Schwann cells that myelinate the distal aspect of the vestibular division of the 8th cranial nerve. Vestibular schwannomas, sometimes referred to by the double misnomer "acoustic neuroma" (it is a double misnomer because they are not neuromas and they do not usually involve the acoustic division of cranial... Continue Reading →
Schwannomas are peripheral nerve sheath tumors that arise from cells that myelinate peripheral nerve axons called Schwann cells. A classic histologic finding in schwannomas are Verocay bodies (arrows), which consist of short palisades of tumor cell nuclei separated by eosinophilic anucleate bands of tumor cell processes. Verocay bodies are often more prominent in schwannomas that arise in the setting of a... Continue Reading →
Schwannomas are typically sporadic lesions which stem from the Schwann cells that myelinate (or insulate) the peripheral nerves. Patients with multiple schwannomas are more likely to have an associated familial tumor syndrome, such as Neurofibromatosis Type II (NF2). NF2 is a disorder in which a person inherits a defective gene, called NF2, that affects the merlin tumor suppressor protein thereby permiting... Continue Reading →
Peripheral nerve fibers are sheathed by Schwann cells, which occasionally give rise to a Schwannoma (also termed neurilemoma), a circumscribed tumor that typically occurs along the peripheral aspect of a nerve. Unlike neurofibromas, schwannomas often can be excised without sacrificing the parent nerve, leaving the patient functionally intact. Depending on the degree of microscopic microcystic changes, schwannomas can have a soft... Continue Reading →
Adventures in Neuropathology 