Common Histopathology terms - Highlights (Rete Ridges)
There are so many histopathology terms a student may need to get acquainted to. Here’s a snippet of one such histopathology term - “Rete Ridges”.
🤔What is a rete ridge? And what are some characteristic shapes they can assume?
In the oral mucosa and skin, epithelial extensions called rete ridges or rete pegs interlock with the underlying connective tissue papillae.
Hence the interface between the epithelium and connective tissue in the oral mucosa is undulating or wavy.
The epithelial rete ridges may assume characteristic shapes in certain oral lesions.
✔Saw-Tooth shaped rete ridges
“Saw tooth” rete ridges are classically seen in oral lichen planus and lichenoid reactions/lesions.
The normal “U-shaped” rete ridges become pointed resembling a “saw tooth”, hence the name.
The rete ridge, in these lesions, assumes this shape due to the basal cell degeneration of the epithelium by the subjacent inflammatory cells.
Saw-tooth rete ridge
✔Drop-Shaped rete ridges
Drop shaped or bulbous rete ridges may be seen in lesions showing dysplasia.
In fact, “drop shaped rete ridge” is considered to be an important dysplastic feature (architectural change).
Rete ridges assume this shape due to excessive proliferation of basal cells.
✔Elephant-Foot rete ridges
In verrucous carcinoma, rete ridges are elongated, thick and bulky, and push into the adjacent connective tissue.
They are described as having an “elephant’s foot” appearance.
🔎You could dig deeper into the topic
In fact, we delve a lot more deeper into this topic in our cheatsheet/note -> Common histopathology terms. We talk about,
hyperplasia,
acanthosis,
hyperkeratosis,
atrophy,
acantholysis,
metaplasia,
dysplasia,
invasion of epithelium into the connective tissue (carcinoma),
rete ridges.
You could read in detail about Common Histopathology Terms with our Revision Ninja - Oral Pathology and Medicine Course bundle!
💡Note
Apart from Notes, you could also get access to numerous MCQs and Videos with English captions/subtitles on various topics in Oral Pathology and Medicine.
📚Other study resources on HackDentistry!
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