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Mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) in the human conjunctiva

1994; Volume: 174; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/path.1711740106

1096-9896

Andrew Wotherspoon, Peter G. Isaacson, Simon Hardman‐Lea,

CNS Lymphoma Diagnosis and Treatment

Abstract The recent description of conjunctival lymphomas with features of lymphomas that arise in mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) infers the presence of MALT in the human conjunctiva. Some authors suggest that organized MALT is found in the normal human conjunctiva, but others disagree. In order to resolve this problem, we have examined the conjunctival fornix from unselected autopsies with no prior history of conjunctival or ocular disease for the presence of organized MALT. In only 31 per cent of cases was organized lymphoid tissue found with the morphological and immunophenotypic features of MALT. This finding suggests that MALT is not found in the normal human conjunctiva but is acquired during life in a proportion of apparently asymptomatic individuals.