grenz zone

grenz zone

in histopathology, a narrow layer beneath the epidermis that is not infiltrated or involved in the same way as are the lower layers of the dermis. [Ger. Grenze, borderline, boundary]
A well-demarcated zone of separation in the upper dermis delineated by the collagen of the flattened basal epidermis from the upper dermis, the latter of which often has a dense, usually lymphocytic infiltrate. A grenz zone is seen in granuloma faciale, lepromatous leprosy, and lymphocytoma cutis and may separate a pilar tumour or leiomyoma from atrophic overlying skin