Amyloidosis is an heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by the interstitial deposition of amorphous amyloid deposits. Deposits are identified by their apple-green birefringence under polarized light, by staining with Congo red and by nonbranching fibrils on electron microscopy. Amyloidosis is due to misfolding of extracellular proteins. Misfolding results in the formation of insoluble protein aggregates of amorphous material that disrupts the structure/function of a variety of tissues/organs. There are several types of proteins, the misfolding of which determines the specific features of each variant of amyloidosis.
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