Curschmann's Spirals
Encyclopedia
Curschmann's spirals refers to a finding in the sputum
of spiral shaped mucus plugs. These may occur in several different lung diseases.
The term can refer to parts of the desquamated
epithelium
seen in biopsies from asthmatic patients. They are named after German physician Heinrich Curschmann
(1846-1910). They are often seen in association with creola bodies
and Charcot-Leyden crystals
.
Sputum
Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways. It is usually used for microbiological investigations of respiratory infections....
of spiral shaped mucus plugs. These may occur in several different lung diseases.
The term can refer to parts of the desquamated
Desquamation
Desquamation , also called skin peeling, is the shedding of the outermost membrane or layer of a tissue, such as the skin.-Skin:Normal, nonpathologic desquamation of the skin occurs when keratinocytes, after moving apically over about 14 days, are individually shed unnoticeably...
epithelium
Epithelium
Epithelium is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. Epithelial tissues line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body, and also form many glands. Functions of epithelial cells include secretion, selective...
seen in biopsies from asthmatic patients. They are named after German physician Heinrich Curschmann
Heinrich Curschmann
Heinrich Curschmann was a German internist who was a native of Giessen. Prior to 1888 he worked in hospitals in Berlin and Hamburg...
(1846-1910). They are often seen in association with creola bodies
Creola bodies
Creola bodies are a histopathologic finding indicative of asthma. Found in a patient's sputum, they are ciliated columnar cells sloughed from the bronchial mucosa of a patient with asthma. Other common findings in the sputum of asthma patients include Charcot-Leyden crystals, Curschmann's...
and Charcot-Leyden crystals
Charcot-Leyden crystals
Charcot-Leyden crystals are microscopic crystals found in people who have allergic diseases such as asthma or parasitic infections such as parasitic pneumonia or ascariasis.The Charcot-Leyden crystal protein interacts with eosinophil lysophospholipases....
.