What is Virchow cells in leprosy?

This also seems to occur in leprosy, which is characterized by collections of heavily infected macrophages with a typically ‘foamy’ appearance (also referred to as Virchow or Lepra cells) in LL dermal lesions (Virchow, 1863; Scollard et al., 2006).

How does leprosy work on a cellular level?

Mycobacterium leprae is a parasitic bacterium that can only survive inside host cells. It evades detection by the host’s immune system by infecting Schwann cells, the glial cells which form the fatty myelin tissue that insulates peripheral nerves and helps them to conduct impulses.

What is the granuloma formed in leprosy?

Tuberculoid leprosy – There is a tuberculoid or sarcoidal granulomatous reaction throughout the dermis consisting of some Langhans giant cells, macrophages in tight clusters, and few accompanying lymphocytes (figure 3).

What is Ridley Jopling classification?

In the 1960s, Ridley and Jopling [1] proposed a histological classification scheme for leprosy that ranged in severity, beginning with early indeterminant (I) leprosy and continuing with polar tuberculoid (TT) leprosy, borderline tuberculoid (BT) leprosy, mid-borderline (BB) leprosy, borderline lepromatous (BL) leprosy …

How does the body fight off leprosy?

Tuberculoid or paucibacillary leprosy is characterized by cell-mediated immune responses to mycobacterial antigens and low infection whereas lepromatous or multibacillary leprosy is characterized by humoral immune response and high bacillary load. The different degree of cellular immune response to M.

What is the reservoir of leprosy?

Research Suggests Leprosy to be a Zoonosis, The Reservoir: Armadillos.

How do you differentiate between Multibacillary and Paucibacillary?

Paucibacillary patients are those who are skin smear negative and show no evidence of more advanced disease on biopsy. Multibacillary patients are those who are skin smear positive and/or have a biopsy indicating more advanced disease.

What does Multibacillary mean?

Multibacillary (MB), or lepromatous, Hansen’s disease is characterized by generalized or diffuse involvement of the skin, a thickening of the peripheral nerves under microscopic examination, and has the potential to involve other organs, the eyes, nose, testes, and bone.

What is non Caseating?

Medical Definition of noncaseating : not exhibiting caseation noncaseating granulomas.

What did Virchow do for pathology?

On his return to Berlin, Virchow published major pathology textbooks including “Cellular Pathology” in 1858, a 3-volume series on tumors starting in 1863, and a smaller book on trichinosis, also in 1863. As his career progressed, Virchow published a large volume of work on a wide variety of pathological subjects.

What is Lucio phenomenon in leprosy?

Lucio phenomenon is seen in Mexican and Central American patients who present with untreated, diffuse, non nodular lepromatous leprosy with hemorrhagic infarct Mitsuda reaction: intradermal injection of an armadilloderived lepra bacilli, is useful for classification

What is the pathophysiology of leprosy?

Lepromatous leprosy occurs in individuals with poor cell mediated immunity; do not develop a granulomatous response Transmitted by nasal discharge and digital impregnation of skin, as bacilli can be carried under nails and are inoculated under the skin by scratching

What is the germ theory of disease according to Virchow?

Virchow did not believe in the germ theory of diseases, as advocated by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. He proposed that diseases came from abnormal activities inside the cells, not from outside pathogens. He believed that epidemics were social in origin, and the way to combat epidemics was political, not medical.