The Dyggve-Melchior-Clausen syndrome is a rare inherited disorder in
which a major feature, the skeletal dysplasia, is thought to result from a
defect in endochondral ossification. To further characterize this
disturbance, histochemical studies were performed on an iliac-crest biopsy
specimen from a patient with disorder. The use of plastic embedding methods
permitted previous observations, which were based on decalcified
paraffin-embedded tissues, to be extended and a variety of new ones to be
made. The resting cartilage matrix was very fibrous. In many areas it
consisted of randomly oriented bundles of loosely woven fibers that stained
as collagen. The chondrocytes in this region were excessively vacuolated
and many contained cytoplasmic inclusions that stained non-specifically as
protein. Cartilage canals were prominent in the resting cartilage. In many
areas, clusters of degenerating chondrocytes and occasional vacuolar
lesions replaced the columns of proliferating and maturing cells that
normally occupy the growth-plate region. There was coarse and irregular
calcification of these clusters at the chondro-osseous junction, and
intracartilaginous ossification was also found. Clinical Relevance: These
observations further define the histological criteria for the diagnosis of
this disorder and provide new insights into its pathogenesis.