string-of-pearls sign

string-of-pearls sign

Dermatology
A term for a finding in lipoid proteinosis consisting of a row of beaded papules along the eyelid margins, which resembles a string of pearls.
Haematology
A term referring to the appearance of lymphocytes in Burkitt’s lymphoma, in which a centrally placed nucleus is surrounded by single row of minute vacuoles in a rim of cytoplasm.
 
Imaging
Lung
A descriptive term for the rounded linear distribution of sarcoid granulomas along the pulmonary septa.
Pancreas
A descriptive term for the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographic appearance of chronic pancreatitis, which is characterised by dilated ducts punctuated by multiple foci of constriction.
 
Small bowel
String-of-beads sign—a descriptive term for the radiologic appearance of small bowel obstruction—the “beads” correspond to pockets of gas oriented in an oblique line, a function of the amount of fluid and the intensity of peristalsis; characteristic of mechanical obstruction, the string-of-beads sign may also be seen in adynamic ileus due to inflammation.
 
Vessels
A descriptive term for the multiple arterial dilatations and strictures seen by (digital subtraction) angiography in fibromuscular dysplasia, a condition which affects small- and medium-sized arteries including the renal and extracranial cephalic vessels.
 
Paediatrics
A term referring to the white mucoid material within a perineal fistula, which is located along the midline and frequently extends anteriorly up the scrotum's median raphe.
 
Pathology
A term of art referring to the epithelial bridges that traverse crypt lumina in biopsies of patients with infective colitis.