The term also refers to a group of morphological changes in a cell (nuclear pleomorphism, altered nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio, presence of nucleoli, high proliferation index) that point to a possible malignant transformation.
Giant cells that are considerably larger than their neighbors may be formed and possess either one enormous nucleus or several nuclei (syncytia).
More important, mitoses are often numerous and distinctly atypical; anarchic multiple spindles may be seen and sometimes appear as tripolar or quadripolar forms.
Also, anaplastic cells usually fail to develop recognizable patterns of orientation to one another (i.e., they lose normal polarity).
They may grow in sheets, with total loss of communal structures, such as gland formation or stratified squamous architecture.