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Granuloma silicoticum: causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 07.07.2025
Silicotic granuloma is formed when quartz, silicon dust, sand, glass particles, gravel, brick enter through damaged skin. Clinically, it is characterized by the development of reddish-bluish or brown papular elements at the site of injury after a significant period of time, occasionally ulcerating. A similar picture can be observed when talc enters an open wound.
Pathomorphology of silicotic granuloma. The microscopic picture is characterized by diffuse inflammatory infiltration of the dermis, consisting of a large number of macrophages and multinucleated giant cells of foreign bodies. There are no signs of organization inside the granulomas. In some cases, the inflammatory reaction, on the contrary, is weak, the tuberculoid structure of the infiltrate predominates. Tubercles consist of epithelioid cells with an admixture of giant multinucleated cells. The diagnosis of silicotic granuloma is aided by the detection of colorless crystalline particles of various shapes and sizes (from the visibility limit to 100 μm) inside the infiltrate. When examined in a polarizing microscope, these particles are birefringent.
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