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Sarcoidosis
Make it clearer
Sarcoidosis is a disease of unknown cause that can show up in several organs at once, and it mainly affects the lungs and the lymphoid organs, the ones that belong to the body's defense system.
What happens is that inflammation goes astray: instead of settling down, immune system cells gather together and form granulomas, which are small clusters of cells. Under the microscope they are noncaseating granulomas, that is, with no broken-down center, because they have little or no central necrosis, and they are made up of epithelioid cells and multinucleated giant cells, which are cells with several nuclei. It is a group of guards crowding around with nothing to watch.
Sarcoidosis can stay silent, and in fact most people go a long time without symptoms. Over time it can leave permanent scarring in the organs.
In brief
Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown cause that mainly affects the lungs and the lymphoid organs.
In sarcoidosis, inflammation goes astray and immune cells form granulomas; on biopsy these are noncaseating, made of epithelioid cells and multinucleated giant cells, with little or no central necrosis.
It is a group of guards crowding around with nothing to watch.
It can stay silent, and most people go a long time without symptoms; over time it can leave permanent scarring in the organs.
Sources (2)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingSarcoidosis, StatPearlsPublished
- MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of MedicineSarcoidosis, MedlinePlusPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated