what does this word mean?

Started by hizo1
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hizo1

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Agyrophilic (or something like that).

As in agyrophilic cytoplasmic inclusions in frontal/temporal dementia?

thanks
 
hizo1 said:
Agyrophilic (or something like that).

As in agyrophilic cytoplasmic inclusions in frontal/temporal dementia?

thanks

I guess I'm referring to Pick bodies... slightly basophilic but strongly staining with silver... maybe the word is argirophilic or something like that??
 
The word means silver-loving, as in something that will bind silver with genuine zeal.

It is spelled "argyrophilic" and is derived from the Latin word for silver: argentum, which is also the base for silver's chemical element symbol "Ag".
 
To be hyper-specific:

Argentaffin: cells can pick up silver and reduce it to its visible metallic state without the aid of an extraneous reducing agent. (Fontana-Masson argentaffin reaction, etc.)

Argyrophil: cells can be impregnated with silver, but a reducing agent is required to reduce the impregnated silver to a metallic visible end product. (Sevier-Muger, and Grimelius techniques)

These basically just refer to the method of special staining performed to highlight these cells. Kulchitsky cell and Enterochromaffin cells in the GI system.

Just borrow a histotechnology book sometime, they go into exhaustive detail about these. Fairly irrelevant for your everyday surgical pathologist.