Pemphigus vulgaris of the uterine cervix revisited: Case report and reviewof the literature

Pemphigus vulgaris is an autoimmune disease characterized by acantholytic b listers and erosions involving the oral mucosa skin, and less frequently ot her mucosal surfaces. Although the cytology of scrapings from the cutaneous and oral lesions has been well-documented there are relatively few reports in the literature of the cytologic appearance of pemphigus on cervicovagin al smears. This report documents a case of pemphigus involving the cervix, in which the diagnosis was not known at the time of the cervical smear and biopsy. The cytologic features of this case and those in the literature are described in detail, highlighting the necessity of awareness of the diseas e and its presentation on cervicovaginal smears, in preventing an overdiagn osis of neoplasia. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2000:22:304-307. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.