emperipolesis

Image:Emperipolesis - very high mag.jpg showing emperipolesis in a case of Rosai-Dorfman disease. H&E stain.]]

Emperipolesis is the presence of an intact cell within the cytoplasm of another cell.Emperipolesis. dictionary.com. URL: [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/emperipolesis http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/emperipolesis]. Accessed on: 11 August 2010. It is derived from Greek (en is inside, peripoleomai is go round).Emperipolesis. Stedman's Medical Dictionary. 27th Ed. Emperipolesis is an uncommon biological process, and can be physiological or pathological.{{Cite journal|title=Emperipolesis – A Review|journal=Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research|author=Rastogi, Varun|author2=Sharma, Rachna|author3=Misra, Satya|author4=Yadav, Lalita|author5=Sharma, Vandana|doi=10.7860/jcdr/2014/10361.5299|year = 2014|volume = 8|issue = 12|pages = ZM01–ZM02|pmid = 25654060|pmc=4316366}}

It is related to peripolesis, which is the attachment of one cell to another.{{cite journal |vauthors=Lyons DJ, Gautam A, Clark J, etal |title=Lymphocyte macrophage interactions: peripolesis of human alveolar macrophages |journal=Eur. Respir. J. |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=59–66 |date=January 1992 |pmid=1577151 }}

Emperipolesis is unlike phagocytosis, in which the engulfed cell is killed by the lysosomal enzymes of the macrophage. Instead, the engulfed cell remains viable within the other, and can exit at any time without causing structural or functional abnormalities in either cell.