Abstract
One of the most challenging differential diagnostic problems encountered in the setting of surgical neuropathology is distinguishing between gliosis or reactive astrocytosis and a low-grade glial neoplasm. Gliosis is the brain’s way of reacting to injury, insult, or “something” that should not be there (e.g., a tumor). Therefore, it is common to observe at least some degree of reactive astrocytosis adjacent to and associated with a tumor. This problem is further magnified by the paucity of material that is typically available for evaluation, particularly in this age of stereotactic biopsies. Compound this with all the artifacts and limitations one can encounter in the setting of intraoperative consultation, and the distinction between gliosis and an infiltrating, low-grade glioma often tops the list as one of the more difficult challenges of diagnostic neuropathology.
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Prayson, R.A., Cohen, M.L. (2000). Gliosis. In: Practical Differential Diagnosis in Surgical Neuropathology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-037-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-037-7_2
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-201-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-037-7
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