Ultrastructural features of the verruciform xanthoma.

The verruciform xanthoma, a rare lesion of the oral cavity, was studied by light and electron microscopy. The major cell type associated with the lesion was shown to contain appreciable amounts of lipid and was characterized as a macrophage. It was characteristic of the endothelial cells associated with subepithelial capillaries to exhibit multiple basal laminae. A rather unusual observation was the migration of lipid-filled cells into the stratum germinativum of the overlying epithelium.