4-21 Connective tissue

RESIDENT CELLS OF THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE

FOREIGN-BODY GIANT CELLS

Foreign-body giant cells or multinucleated giant cells are large and multinucleated cells that result from the fusion of macrophages. They are present, along with leukocytes, in a type of inflammatory response called granuloma. Granulomas are formed in some diseases, such as tuberculosis and leprosy.

Giant cells enclose structures that are not easily digested by other phagocytes, such as cellulose fibers, mineral particles and certain bacteria and protozoa.
The figure shows a granuloma that was generated after the insertion of a cotton thread (formed by cellulose fibers) in the skin of a laboratory animal. A granuloma was produced, containing a large number of multinucleated giant cells surrounding the cellulose fibers of the thread. The fibers appear are unstained as they do not stain with with the hematoxykin and eosine stains.
One giant cell is preent in the image. Its cytoplasm becomes highlighted in orange and the row of nuclei in blue. The cotton fiber enwrapped by the cell is highlighted in light brown.