Confocal laser endomicroscopy in the “in vivo” histological diagnosis of the gastrointestinal tract

Table 3 CLE classification of patterns in colorectal lesions

Grading	Vessel architecture	Crypt architecture
Normal	Hexagonal, honeycomb appearance that presents a network of capillaries outlining the stroma surrounding the luminal openings of the crypts	Regular luminal openings and distribution of crypts covered by a homogeneous layer of epithelial cells, including goblet cells
Regeneration	Hexagonal, honeycomb appearance with no increase or only a slight increase in the number of capillaries	Star-shaped luminal crypt openings or focal aggregation of regular-shaped crypts with a regular or reduced amount of goblet cells
Neoplasia	Dilated and distorted vessels with increased leakage; irregular architecture, with little or no orientation to the adjoining tissue	Ridge-lined irregular epithelial layer with loss of crypts and goblet cells; irregular cell architecture, with little or no mucin