Hyaline

Author:Prof. Dr. med. Peter Altmeyer

All authors of this article

Last updated on: 01.07.2025

Dieser Artikel auf Deutsch

Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please login to access all articles, images, and functions.

Our content is available exclusively to medical professionals. If you have already registered, please login. If you haven't, you can register for free (medical professionals only).


Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please complete your registration to access all articles and images.

To gain access, you must complete your registration. You either haven't confirmed your e-mail address or we still need proof that you are a member of the medical profession.

Finish your registration now

DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.

Hyaline (from the Greek hyalos = glass) refers to extracellular deposits of homogeneous, highly eosinophilic protein substances through which light shines under the microscope.

Hyaline can resemble amyloid, but in contrast to amyloid, these are heterogeneous protein substances (e.g. hyaline degeneration of collagen fibers, "hyaline bodies or so-called cytoid bodies" in lupus erythematosus or lichen planus).

ClassificationThis section has been translated automatically.

There are different types of hyaline:

  • Connective tissue hyaline e.g. degenerated collagen
  • Epithelial hyaline e.g. hyaline corpuscles in lichen planus
  • Hyaline plaques: e.g. in the peritoneum, the pleura or the spleen capsule ("sugar icing spleen")
  • Haematogenic hyaline e.g. plasma proteins, old macrothrombi, hyaline
  • Vascular hyaline e.g. plasma proteins that are deposited on the walls and in the lumens of small vessels (arterioles and capillaries) or in the kidney (arteriolosclerosis).

In dermatology, the disease group of "hyalinoses" is so named because it is characterized by hyaline deposits in skin and mucous membranes (hyalinosis cutis et mucosae).

Authors

Last updated on: 01.07.2025