Conjunctival Biopsy - Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid

A strip of tissue should be taken and divided into two samples: one sample should be fixed in formalin and submitted for light microscopy; the other sample should be placed into transport media for immunopathology. If you do not have transport media, please contact us and we will ship it to you by overnight courier. We suggest processing tissue for permanent sections because rarely neoplastic conditions, such as intraepithelial spread of sebaceous carcinoma, can give false positive readings by immunohistochemistry. Also, intraepithelial sebaceous carcinoma may mimic pemphigoid clinically and histologically (by creating the illusion of bullous separation of the epithelium).

Conjunctival biopsy for pemphigoid. Note the bullous separation of the epithelium from the scarred and inflammed substantia propria. The diagnosis was confirmed by the detection of linear deposits of compliment and immunoglobulin along the epithelial basement membrane.

Please handle the tissue gently and prepare it properly for submission to the laboratory.