Malacoplakia of the kidney

Malakoplakia is a rare disease expressed as a special type of inflammatory reaction to infection with various bacteria and fungi. This unusual response is based on defective function of the macrophage system. In malakoplakia infiltrates, most cells are macrophages mixed with lymphocytes, plasma cells and fibroblasts. The macrophages (von Hansemann's histiocytes) with intracytoplasmatic inclusions defined as Micaelis-Guttmann bodies are pathognomonic histological findings. The clinical manifestation of the disease depends on the localisation of lesions, most often in the urinary bladder and the kidney. The authors present a case of renal malakoplakia of in a 32-year-old female patient. The symptoms were not enough characteristic for making the true diagnosis. The diagnosis of malakoplakia was established during autopsy. The histopathological examination revealed von Hansemann's histiocytes and Michaelis-Guttmann bodies in malakoplakia infiltrates.