Von Meyenburg complex

Microfoto of a von Meyenburg complex of the liver.

A Von Meyenburg complex (after the pathologist Hans von Meyenburg ) is a hamartoma of the liver that is structurally composed of enlarged bile duct structures and connective tissue .

Epidemiology

Von Meyenburg complexes were found in section statistics in 5.6% of adults and 0.9% of children. Gender preference, regional or ethnic clustering of the clinical picture has not yet been reported.

etiology

Von Meyenburg complexes arise as a result of an embryonic malformation of the ductal plate , which forms the starting point for the development of the bile ducts within the liver. Associations with liver cysts and cystic kidney disease are described in the literature.

morphology

Macroscopic image of an unusually large von Meyenburg complex of the liver, measuring up to 2.3 cm. A secondary finding is severe liver fibrosis .

Macroscopically, these are single or multiple gray-white foci, usually 0.1–1 cm in size, which are often located directly below the liver capsule. In terms of fine tissue, groups of moderately dilated bile ducts without atypia , which are embedded in connective tissue and can occasionally contain bile, are found.

clinic

Von Meyenburg complexes usually do not cause any symptoms and are usually incidental findings without any disease value. There is rarely a relationship to recurrent biliary tract infections. A transition to a malignant tumor has also been observed in individual cases. The clinical significance of the von Meyenburg complexes is primarily that they have to be differentiated from primary liver tumors and liver metastases ; With absolute certainty, this is often only possible through a liver biopsy and histological examination.

Individual evidence

↑ E. Uehlinger: In memoriam Hans von Meyenburg (June 6, 1887 - November 6, 1971.). In: Verh Dtsch Ges Pathol. 56, 1972, pp. 697-701.
^ H. von Meyenburg: About the cyst liver. In: Contributions to pathological anatomy and general pathology. 64, Jena 1918, pp. 477-532.
↑ MS Redston, IR Wanless: The hepatic von Meyenburg complex: prevalence and association with hepatic and renal cysts among 2843 autopsies. In: Mod Pathol . 9 (3), Mar 1996, pp. 233-237.
^ VJ Salles, A. Marotta, JM Netto and others: Bile duct hamartomas-the von Meyenburg complex. In: Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int. 6 (1), Feb 2007, pp. 108-109.
^ A. Tan, JF Shen, AH Hecht: Sonogram of multiple bile duct hamartomas. In: J Clin Ultrasound. 17, 1989, pp. 667-669.
↑ JS Song, YJ Lee, KW Kim et al: Cholangiocarcinoma arising in von Meyenburg complexes: report of four cases. In: Pathol Int. 58 (8), Aug 2008, pp. 503-512.
↑ D. Jain, VR Sarode, FW Abdul-Karim et al: Evidence for the neoplastic transformation of Von-Meyenburg complexes. In: Am J Surg Pathol . 24 (8), Aug 2000, pp. 1131-1139.

[1] E. Uehlinger: In memoriam Hans von Meyenburg (June 6, 1887 - November 6, 1971.). In: Verh Dtsch Ges Pathol. 56, 1972, pp. 697-701.

[2] H. von Meyenburg: About the cyst liver. In: Contributions to pathological anatomy and general pathology. 64, Jena 1918, pp. 477-532.

[3] MS Redston, IR Wanless: The hepatic von Meyenburg complex: prevalence and association with hepatic and renal cysts among 2843 autopsies. In: Mod Pathol . 9 (3), Mar 1996, pp. 233-237.

[4] VJ Salles, A. Marotta, JM Netto and others: Bile duct hamartomas-the von Meyenburg complex. In: Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int. 6 (1), Feb 2007, pp. 108-109.

[5] A. Tan, JF Shen, AH Hecht: Sonogram of multiple bile duct hamartomas. In: J Clin Ultrasound. 17, 1989, pp. 667-669.

[6] JS Song, YJ Lee, KW Kim et al: Cholangiocarcinoma arising in von Meyenburg complexes: report of four cases. In: Pathol Int. 58 (8), Aug 2008, pp. 503-512.

[7] D. Jain, VR Sarode, FW Abdul-Karim et al: Evidence for the neoplastic transformation of Von-Meyenburg complexes. In: Am J Surg Pathol . 24 (8), Aug 2000, pp. 1131-1139.