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Volume 350:197 January 8, 2004 Number 2
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Melanosis Coli?

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by Ahmed, S.
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To the Editor: The Image in Clinical Medicine by Ahmed and Gunaratnam (Oct. 2 issue)1 is not completely accurate regarding the pathophysiological mechanism of melanosis coli and the related terminology. The pigmentation is triggered by deposits of apoptotic cells, which are ingested by adjacent macrophages within the epithelial tissue.2 Those macrophages migrate in the lamina propria, where lysosomes convert the remains of the cells into lipofuscin pigment. Thus, the term "melanosis" may be misleading, since the pigment is not melanin. As a reference to the dark color of the pigment, the term "nigrosis" coli (from the Latin word "niger," meaning . . . [Full Text of this Article]



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