Granulomas (rare plural: granulomata) are organised conglomerates of histiocytes, a specialised white blood cell1. They form by the process of granulomatous inflammation, which is a specific type of chronic inflammation that occurs following cellular injury as a response to the mediators that are released. A broad range of insults, including infections, autoimmune, foreign bodies, allergens and neoplastic disease, may trigger the formation of granulomas. This inflammatory response is seen at all ages and in all body tissues.
Terminology
It is important to not confuse granuloma with granulation tissue, the latter describes the new tissue that forms as part of the healing of an injury.
Two lesions of the oral cavity that are commonly called granuloma are misnomers:
pyogenic granuloma is an angiomatous lesion rather than a true granuloma 3
1. Shah KK, Pritt BS, Alexander MP. Histopathologic review of granulomatous inflammation. (2017) Journal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases. 7: 1-12. doi:10.1016/j.jctube.2017.02.001 - Pubmed
2. Mukhopadhyay S, Farver CF, Vaszar LT, Dempsey OJ, Popper HH, Mani H, Capelozzi VL, Fukuoka J, Kerr KM, Zeren EH, Iyer VK, Tanaka T, Narde I, Nomikos A, Gumurdulu D, Arava S, Zander DS, Tazelaar HD. Causes of pulmonary granulomas: a retrospective study of 500 cases from seven countries. (2012) Journal of clinical pathology. 65 (1): 51-7. doi:10.1136/jclinpath-2011-200336 - Pubmed
3. Gomes SR, Shakir QJ, Thaker PV, Tavadia JK. Pyogenic granuloma of the gingiva: A misnomer? - A case report and review of literature. (2013) Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology. 17 (4): 514-9. doi:10.4103/0972-124X.118327 - Pubmed
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