Large cell

An unusually large cell, especially a large multinucleated phagocytic cell.

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1. very large cells in normal tissue, e.g. megakaryocytes in bone marrow.
2. multinucleate macrophages found around foreign bodies and in granulomas. Three variants of multinucleated giant cells are recognized—Langhans, Touton and foreign body. Differentiation is based on the distribution of their nuclei.

• g. c. epulis — peripheral giant cell granulomas appearing as bright red, smooth gingival masses in cats and dogs; includes hyperplastic epithelium and many giant cells in densely cellular stroma.
• extraskeletal g. c. tumor — see malignant fibrous histiocytoma.
• epidermal multinucleated g. c. — found in viral infections and chronic, pruritic dermatoses characterized by epidermal hyperplasia or dyskeratosis.

An abnormally large tissue cell. It often contains more than one nucleus and may appear as a merger of several normal cells.

Large cell is a term used in oncology. It does not refer to a particular type of cell; rather it refers to cells that are larger than would be normally expected for that type. It is frequently used when describing lymphoma and lung cancer.

It was more frequently used in the past than it is used today, when doctors often could tell little about a cell other than its size, and it was used for classification systems such as the "Working Formulation" for lymphoma. As such, the term lives on in the names of many conditions, even when the size of the cell is no longer one of the most important diagnostic criteria.

The phrase giant cell is also frequently used, especially with carcinoma.

Giant cell tumors include giant cell tumor of bone and giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath.^[1]

See also

• nosology
• anaplastic large-cell lymphoma

References

1. ^ MeSH Giant+Cell+Tumors

External links

• Overview at Mayo Clinic
• Large Cell and Giant Cell
• MeSH Carcinoma,+Giant+Cell

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