Parosteal osteogenic sarcoma. Ultrastructural observations in three cases.

Ultrastructural study of three parosteal osteogenic sarcomas showed this type of tumor to contain numerous myofibroblasts. These cells were admixed with occasional cells resembling osteoblasts and fibroblasts. Cartilaginous areas showed the typical arrangement of cartilage cells embedded in a dense collagen matrix. Ultrastructural examination of a recurrent lesion revealed the presence of numerous undifferentiated cells as well as the types of cells just described. In addition, desmosomes were evident between the more undifferentiated cells. The ultrastructural study of these tumors shows that parosteal osteogenic sarcomas are ultrastructurally a distinctive type of osteogenic sarcoma.