An ultrastructural study of carcinoid tumor of the iris.
An iris tumor developed in a 37-year-old woman who had had a bronchial carcinoid tumor resected nine years previously. The iris tumor was locally excised with a modified trabeculectomy approach. Histologic studies showed it to be a metastatic carcinoid tumor. Electron microscopy demonstrated typical dark and pale carcinoid cells with neurosecretory granules, basal bodies, and apical microvilli. The cisternae of the granular endoplasmic reticulum were disposed in a series of concentric rings encapsulating a central core of mitochondria. This unusual type of subcellular organization and specialization is probably a reflection of the slow-growing and highly differentiated nature of the iris tumor.
D000328:Adult; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002276:Carcinoid Tumor / Q000601:surgery / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007499:Iris Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D014604:Uveal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery / Q000648:ultrastructure*