Premium
Monilethrix: an electron microscopic and electron histochemical study
Author(s) -
GUMMER C.L.,
DAWBER R.P.R.,
SWIFT J.A.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1981.tb00796.x
Subject(s) - cuticle (hair) , keratin , hair follicle , inner root sheath , anatomy , biology , electron microscope , pathology , folding (dsp implementation) , hyperplasia , chemistry , outer root sheath , biophysics , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , optics , physics , electrical engineering , engineering
SUMMARY We have carried out electron microscopic and electron histochemical investigations on affected hair follicles and hair shafts to elucidate further the structural abnormality in monilethrix. The structural abnormalities manifest in the cortex and cuticle of the hair shaft could be traced to the locality of the ‘zone of keratinization’ of the follicle. Abnormal orientation of the cortical cell proteins, folding of the cuticle cell membrane and varying amounts of endocuticular material were all observed in the region prior to full keratinization. We observed structural abnormalities within all the component layers of the inner root sheath adjacent to the faults within the hair shaft, indicating a possible asynchrony within the monilethrix follicle.