Angiodysplasia of the Gallbladder: An Unknown Risk Factor for Cholecystolithiasis

Figure 1

Representative photomicrograph of angiodysplasia of the gallbladder. Low-power magnification shows reduced and wide mucosal folds with cylindrical epithelia of the mucosa almost entirely missing. There was a moderate mixed inflammatory cell infiltrate in the submucosa, and the muscular layer was slightly hypertrophic, which is consistent with chronic cholecystitis. An interesting finding was large, dilated, and malformed arteries and veins in the distorted muscular layer extending into the submucosa and mucosa. (HE; 40x). The inset microphotograph shows a large thick artery from the submucosa of the wall of the gallbladder body (HE; 200x).