The combination of spindle cells in fascicles with mucinous stroma is seen in other skin tumors. The myxoid stroma is within the fascicles or cell clusters in those neurothekeomas  having this type stroma rather than peripheral to the fascicles as in this case. Rarely, basal cell carcinomas may have architecture that is so fascicular as to enter the differential diagnosis.

The current case is from the trunk of a 9 year old male. The glass slide was prepared in another lab, and that lab occasionally uses a hematoxylin staining solution for a period of time after it has become overly oxidized. The products of over-oxidation lose nuclear specificity and tend to stain background substances such as acid mucopolysaccharides with great affinity. This may be partly responsible for the appearance of this slide.
 

	Scan power view.
	Composite medium power view. Fascicles of relatively uniform, plump, spindle cells are separated by stroma containing blue material that is tissue mucin, probably hyaluronic acid.
	High power view from the superficial part of above. The junctional component contains a few Kamino bodies.
	High power view from deeper in the lesion. The tissue mucin is outside the fascicles of plump spindle cells.

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