Definition - palisading nuclei

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osli

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I've seen this pop up in a qbank question or two, and I'm struggling to get a good definition. I know what palisading means regarding fences or cliffs, but what exactly are they talking about when applied to a malignancy?

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Based on my path reading, my simple understanding is that palisading is where the nuclei line up, almost looking like a wall or fence, and pseudopalisading is where they are lined up with necrosis next to them like in a glioblastoma.

Palisading:
ne13.jpg


Pseudopalisading
Glioblastoma_%281%29.jpg


I'm sure you know all that already, but I've never come across a good explanation of why the cells do this in certain neoplasms. Do the questions you're looking at require a deeper understanding than this?
 
I've seen this pop up in a qbank question or two, and I'm struggling to get a good definition. I know what palisading means regarding fences or cliffs, but what exactly are they talking about when applied to a malignancy?


Palisading-Ependymoma The cells are called Antoni A/B cells, whereas the space between them i think is called a verocay body.

Pseuodopalisading- Homer Wright Rossettes-Medulloblastoma. As is shown in the pictures above-with medulloblastoma, the cells are "palisading" around an empty space, whereas in ependymomas, they are around a blood vessel.

Not sure if this helps? Why do the cells do this? I have no idea.
 
I'm sure you know all that already, but I've never come across a good explanation of why the cells do this in certain neoplasms. Do the questions you're looking at require a deeper understanding than this?
Wow, a response with pictures! :thumbup:

I guess I know what the tumors look like and can identify them from histological inspection, but I was afraid that the push away from "buzz words" might leave me with a question attempting to describe 'palisading' that didn't ring any bells with me. Kaplan has used 'palisading nuclei' in a couple of questions, but perhaps the USMLE won't. I guess I'm worried they wouldn't say "nuclei lined up like fence posts" but something ******ed like "replication centers migrating under influence of transcription factor 2x&8p:3r#". :laugh:
 
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old thread...but this really helped

From: F.J. Wippold et al. "Neuropathology for the Neuroradiologist: Palisades and Pseudopalisades"

A palisade is a strong fence or protective perimeter made of a row of wooden poles or stakes driven into the ground. Fortifications consisting of palisades made of stout logs were relatively common in the American frontier in the 18th and 19th centuries because stone and brick building materials were scarce (Fig 1). Pathologists examining the microscopic appearance of certain tumors noted arrangements of elongated nuclei stacked in neat rows and attached the descriptive term “palisades” on the basis of their resemblance to these fortifications. Nuclear palisades may be considered “primary” when they reflect a natural tendency of the nuclei to develop this distinctive pattern of growth or “secondary” when the alignment forms as a response to external influences such as necrosis.1 The latter have been termed “pseudopalisades” to distinguish them from primary palisades. Although not pathognomonic, palisades are most often seen in schwannomas, whereas pseudopalisades are typical of glioblastomas.1
 
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