[An electron microscopic histochemical study on proteoglycans in salivary gland myoepithelioma]

Four myoepitheliomas and four parotid gland were studied histochemically be electron microscopy after stain with ruthenium red. It was found that the normal myoepithelial cells of parotid gland had no secretion function, whereas the myoepithelioma cells were capable of secreting proteoglycans and might form the myxoid region in this tumor. The authors propose that in the pathological diagnosis and differentiat diagnosis of salivary gland epithelial tumors, the appearance of the myxoid region is not only the pathological feature of pleomorphic adenoma, but also the pathological change of myoepithelioma.