Spindle cell haemangioma of the tongue.

BACKGROUND: Spindle cell hemangioma (SCH) is an uncommon benign vascular tumor that rarely occurs in the mouth. METHODS AND RESULTS: We present an SCH arising in the tongue of a 52-year-old otherwise healthy woman. SCH should be considered in the differential diagnosis of vascular tumors in the oral cavity and not misinterpreted as a more aggressive vascular tumor. We describe the clinical presentation, investigation, differential diagnosis and management of this condition and a literature search showing published case reports. CONCLUSION: Although SCH rarely presents in the oral cavity it needs to be considered in the differential diagnosis of oral cavity tumors.

The developmental expression of foxl2 in the dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula.

The FoxL2 genes are a subfamily of the Fox (forkhead box) gene family. FOXL2 is mutated in the disorder Blepharophimosis, Ptosis, and Epicanthus Inversus Syndrome (BPES), which is characterized by eyelid malformations, and Premature Ovarian Failure (POF). In the mouse expression is seen in the perioptic mesenchyme, developing eyelids, ovary and pituitary. We have isolated a foxl2 cDNA from the dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula (also known as the lesser spotted catshark), allowing the characterisation of this gene's sequence and expression from a lineage that diverged early in the evolution of gnathostomes. Molecular phylogenetic analysis strongly grouped this sequence with the gnathostomes within the FoxL2 subfamily. We demonstrate the early expression of Scyliorhinus canicula foxl2 in the mandibular head mesoderm and later in continuous populations of mandibular arch cells and mandibular head mesenchyme cells around the developing pituitary. As development proceeds expression decreases in the mesenchyme of the head but is seen in the mesenchyme around the eye and later in the developing eyelids. Additionally expression is seen in regions of pharyngeal arch mesoderm and in ectoderm from which gill buds will form. This expression is maintained in the developing and elongating gill buds. Thus, S. canicula foxl2 is a marker for the mandibular mesoderm and gill buds and its expression is conserved in the perioptic mesenchyme, developing eyelids and pituitary.