"Hyaline cells" in pleomorphic adenoma of salivary gland origin

Fifty-two cases of pleomorphic adenoma of minor salivary gland origin and seventy-two cases of pleomorphic adenoma of major salivary gland origin were examined for the presence of hyaline cells (plasmacytoid cells). Hyaline cells were found in 38 percent of the minor salivary gland cases and 21 percent of the major salivary gland cases. When stained with hematoxylin and eosin, the hyaline cells exhibited an eccentric nucleus and a striking homogenous, ground-glass, eosinophilic cytoplasm. At the ultrastructural level, the cytoplasm of the hyaline cells was closely packed with intermediate-sized filaments having no apparent orientation. It is suggested that the hyaline cells are modified myoepithelial cells.