| Acantholysis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Foot-and-mouth disease - acantholysis in a sample of a skin vesicle: Necrosis of the stratum spinosum can be observed, and keratinocytes floating in the vesicular fluid (spongiosa). | |
| Specialty | Dermatology |
Acantholysis is the loss of intercellular connections, such as desmosomes, resulting in loss of cohesion between keratinocytes,[1] seen in diseases such as pemphigus vulgaris.[2] It is absent in bullous pemphigoid, making it useful for differential diagnosis.
This histological feature is also seen in herpes simplex infections (HSV 1 and 2) and varicella zoster infections (chicken pox and shingles).
- ^ Kumar, Vinay; Fausto, Nelso; Abbas, Abul (2004) Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease (7th ed.). Saunders. Page 1230. ISBN 0-7216-0187-1.
- ^ "Acantholysis - Medical Definition from MediLexicon". medilexicon.com. Archived from the original on 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2017-04-22.