The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 64, Issue 3 408-415, Copyright © 1982 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
Dyggve-Melchior-Clausen syndrome. A histochemical study of the growth plate
WA Horton and CI Scott
The Dyggve-Melchior-Clausen syndrome is a rare inherited disorder in which
a major feature, the skeletal dysplasia, is thought to result from a defect
in endochondral ossification. To further characterize this disturbance,
histochemical studies were performed on an iliac-crest biopsy specimen from
a patient with disorder. The use of plastic embedding methods permitted
previous observations, which were based on decalcified paraffin-embedded
tissues, to be extended and a variety of new ones to be made. The resting
cartilage matrix was very fibrous. In many areas it consisted of randomly
oriented bundles of loosely woven fibers that stained as collagen. The
chondrocytes in this region were excessively vacuolated and many contained
cytoplasmic inclusions that stained non-specifically as protein. Cartilage
canals were prominent in the resting cartilage. In many areas, clusters of
degenerating chondrocytes and occasional vacuolar lesions replaced the
columns of proliferating and maturing cells that normally occupy the
growth-plate region. There was coarse and irregular calcification of these
clusters at the chondro-osseous junction, and intracartilaginous
ossification was also found. Clinical Relevance: These observations further
define the histological criteria for the diagnosis of this disorder and
provide new insights into its pathogenesis.