Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Author Spotlight: Analyzing Fibrosis Development in Chronic Lung Allograft Rejection Using Picrosirius Red Staining in Mouse Models
Published on: March 21, 2025
Polarized Microscopy in Lesions With Altered Dermal Collagen
Amira Elbendary1, Manuel Valdebran, Kruti Parikh
1*Department of Dermatology, Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology, New York, NY; †Dermatology Department, Kasr Alainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; ‡Department of Dermatology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Piscataway, NJ; and §Department of Dermatology, The Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
Abstract:
Alterations in dermal collagen are noted in dermatofibroma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, morphea, lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, hypertrophic scars, and keloids. The authors sought to determine whether variations in birefringence of collagen by polarized microscopy could be of help in diagnosing such conditions. Representative hematoxylin and eosin sections of 400 cases, including dermatofibroma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, hypertrophic scars, keloid, morphea, and lichen sclerosus, were examined under polarized microscopy. Distinct patterns of birefringence of collagen for each disease were noted under polarized microscopy. This study highlights the use of polarized microscopy as adjunctive tool in differentiating different diseases with collagen alteration.
