Summary
Glomus tumor is a rare and benign vascular tumor. The lesions are usually solitary but reports of multifocal tumors have been published.
mass.
CT scan shows a non-specific subungual or soft tissue mass. T1 MRI is not as useful for subungual lesions as it only demonstrates a dark, well delineated mass. Glomus tumors appear as a very high and homogeneous signal intensity on T2 weighted images. MRI is useful for the detection of lesions in the soft tissues. The radiological differential includes epidermal inclusion cyst, enchondroma, chronic osteomyelitis, sarcoidosis, metastatic carcinoma, subungual melanoma and osteoid osteoma.
Complete Information on this Tumor
Glomus tumor is a rare and benign vascular tumor. The normal glomus unit is a neuromyoarterial apparatus that functions to regulate skin circulation and is found subungually, on the finger tip pulp, on the base of the foot and the rest of body in descending order. The most common site of glomus tumors is subungual and 75% of the lesions occur in the hand.
Other sites include the palm, wrist, forearm and foot. Glomus tumor can occur near the tip of the spine, where it may arise from the glomus coccygeum. Glomus tumors have also been described in locations where the glomus body does not normally occur. Unusual sites include the patella, bone, chest wall, eyelid, colon, rectum, cervix, and other sites. Glomus tumors rarely arise directly from bone.
Clinically, glomus tumors are characterized by a triad of sensitivity to cold, localized tenderness and severe intermittent pain. The pain can be excruciating and is described as a burning or bursting.The exact cause of the pain is not completely understood, but nerve fibers containing the pain neurotransmitter substance P have been identified in the tumor.
mass. CT scan shows a non-specific subungual mass. T1 MRI is not as useful for subungual lesions as it only demonstrates a dark, well delineated mass. Glomus tumors appear as a very high and homogeneous signal intensity on T2 weighted images. MRI is useful for the detection of lesions in the soft tissues. The radiological differential includes epidermal inclusion cyst, enchondroma, chronic osteomyelitis, sarcoidosis, metastatic carcinoma, subungual melanoma and osteoid osteoma.
structures are surrounded by rounded uniform epithelioid cells with granular cytoplasm known as glomus cells or pericytes. Also present are smooth muscle cells and non-myelinated nerve cells. There is no pleomorphism or
mitotic activity. There are three forms of glomus tumors: vascular, myxoid and solid. The vascular form consists of mostly vessels with little epithelioid component. The solid form has sheets of glomus cells with few vessels. Glomus tumors stain positive for the smooth muscle marker actin.
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