The Study on The Nature of Fibrous Materials Extracted from Follicular Skin Lesions / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Comedo extractor is in general used for the management or diagnosis of the follicular cutaneous disorders such as acne and folliculitis. During observing such extracted materials, we happened to discover the extraordinary thread-like fibrous materials. OBJECTIVE: We tried to clarify the nature of these fibrous materials. METHODS: The extracted materials from 20 patients with follicular cutanous disorders including 10 acne vulgaris and 10 pityrosporum folliculitis and 10 normal persons were investigated by pKOH, Masson trichrome for collagen fiber, Gomori's reticulum for reticulum fiber, acid orcein for elastic fiber, periodic acid-Schiff for fungal element and alcian blue for mucin. And we performed above mentioned special stainings in two biopsy specimens. RESULTS: Most of the extracted fibrous materials were reticulum fibers(95%) and some of them were elastic fibers(35%). And we observed the reticulum fibers and elastic fibers taken off from the pilosebaceous follicle on the histopathologic study. CONCLUSION: The fibrous materials extracted from follicular lesions were reticulum fibers or elastic fibers. And the observed presence of elastic fibers and reticulum fibers might result from tissue necrosis produced by leukocytes during the inflammatory phase of pilosebaceous follicles.