Helping medical students to learn pathology more effectively.

Context: Teaching methods in pathology for undergraduate medical students are not effective.

Aims: To document measures that can be adopted by individual teachers that can excite the interest, participation of the students and help them learn pathology in a clinical reasoning context.

Settings And Design: Medical students in a large international medical school with class sizes of 700-900 were taught the pathology course in a period of sixteen weeks for two cohorts of students each year over a period of twenty years.

Concept map as an adjunct tool to teach pathology.

Context: Concept maps (CMs) were tested for their effectiveness in teaching pathology in a conceptual manner.

Aims: To correlate the quality of CMs drawn by students with their performance on tests involving clinical problem-solving.

Subjects And Methods: Students were taught "how, why, and so what" about CMs at the start of the course.

Benign Bone-Forming Tumors: Approach to Diagnosis and Current Understanding of Pathogenesis.

The diagnosis of benign bone-forming tumors continues to be based on the traditional approach to bone tumor diagnosis using knowledge of the spectrum of histopathologic features seen in these tumors in combination with clinical and radiological correlation. This review emphasizes the pathologic features and the clinical and radiological features that the surgical pathologist must have a working understanding of to make an accurate diagnosis and avoid confusion with other lesions, particularly osteosarcoma. New and persistent challenges facing the practicing pathologist and our current understanding of the cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities involved in the pathogenesis of these tumors are discussed.

How can the postgraduate training program in pathology departments in India be improved?

There exists a wide variation in the competence of the postgraduate residents trained in pathology in different institutions across India. This results in strong disparities in the clinical diagnostic skills, teaching skills, research capabilities and the managerial skills of the graduates. The end users of this training, namely the community, clinicians and health care institutions would benefit from a more uniform and better trained pathologist.

Molecular pathology for the general pathologist: Second oration of the Indian college of pathologists.

Molecular diagnostic tools form a necessitity in the modern practice of pathology. This review aims to introduce some basic principles of molecular diagnostics to a pathologist involved in the practice of histology. Some common clinical scenarios and the application of molecular techniques in those settings to obtain an accurate diagnosis is discussed.

Chondroid syringoma of the nose: report of a case.

Chondroid syringoma or mixed tumour of the skin is a rare benign tumour which can present on the face. We present here the case of a patient who underwent an excisional biopsy of a small painless nodule in the soft triangle of the nose for cosmetic reasons. The clinical presentation, histology and treatment, with review of the relevant literature, is discussed.

Diminution in parietal cell number in experimental portal hypertensive gastropathy.

Portal hypertensive gastropathy is a well-established clinical entity. Although stimulated acid secretion has been found to be decreased in portal hypertensive rats, the parietal cell mass has not been studied. Portal hypertension was produced in Wistar rats either by partial portal vein ligation (N = 16) or by common bile duct ligation (N = 23) and confirmed by intrasplenic pulp pressure measurement.

Pseudo-Gaucher's cells in association with common acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Gaucher-like cells were found in the bone marrow and liver of an Omani teenager who had common acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) confirmed on peripheral blood analysis by the presence of CD10 antigen. Leukocytic or fibroblastic beta-glucocerebrosidase enzyme activity was not measured, but other biochemical data and features of bone marrow on electron microscopy were not indicative of genuine type 1 Gaucher's disease. To our knowledge, this is the first report of pseudo-Gaucher's cells in association with cALL.

Experimental extrahepatic obstruction of portal vein: documentation of histopathological alterations in liver and extrahepatic tissues.

The histopathology of the portal vein in human extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO) in the form of cavernomatous transformation of the portal vein is well documented. However, a similar detailed histopathology has not been documented in experimental EHPVO, even though the model has been in existence for many years. An experimental model of EHPVO was created by partial ligation of the portal vein in 20 rats.

Hepatitis E virus: epidemiological, clinical and serological studies of north Indian epidemic.

Background: A large waterborne epidemic of viral hepatitis occurred in the city of Karnal (Haryana) from February to April 1987. An attempt was made to study the epidemic clinically, serologically and etiologically.

Methods: A house-to-house search of the city was conducted for the detection of acute hepatitis cases.

Hepatic outflow obstruction (Budd-Chiari syndrome). Experience with 177 patients and a review of the literature.

Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) may not be as uncommon as was once believed. Our study has substantiated the existence of 2 major clinical forms. The acute syndrome is invariably associated with extensive blockage of the major hepatic veins, resulting in congestive liver cell necrosis.

Comparison of fresh autogenous with formalin preserved allogeneic bone grafts in rabbits. An experimental study.

A complete circumferential gap was produced in the diaphysis of the ulna in rabbits and the radius was left intact. The gap on the right side was filled with formalin preserved allogeneic (FPA) bone graft, and fresh autogenous bone taken from the right ulna was put into the gap on the left side. The gap was left untouched in a control group.

Primary hepatic lymphoma mimicking fulminant hepatic failure.

A patient with clinical presentation mimicking fulminant hepatic failure was found to have primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of liver on autopsy. He had tender nodular hepatomegaly, elevated liver enzymes and appearance of a diffuse infiltrative disorder on sonography. Extensive diffuse infiltration may be the dominant factor for the rapid hepatocellular failure in this case.

Oesophageal tuberculosis mimicking a tumour during treatment for nodal tuberculosis.

A patient with cervical lymph node tuberculosis developed a tubercular ulcer in the oesophagus eight weeks after starting treatment. This was probably due to a drug related hypersensitivity reaction in an adjacent mediastinal lymph node and subsided with continued treatment.

Chronic duodenitis in Zaria, northern Nigeria.

Thirty-four consecutive patients presenting to the Endoscopy clinic of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria with symptoms of upper abdominal pain were investigated for chronic duodenitis by endoscopy and histology and for associated diseases. Twenty-two patients had histological evidence of chronic duodenitis. No clinical features separated these from those who had no duodenitis.

Isolated portal hypertension in sarcoidosis. A report of two Indian patients.

Two patients with portal hypertension due to sarcoidosis are described. While one of them had severe bleeding from varices the other was asymptomatic. Endoscopic sclerotherapy obliterated the bleeding varices and is planned for the other patient if he bleeds.

Wegener's granulomatosis: clinical experience with eighteen patients.

Wegener's granulomatosis is being recognised with increasing frequency in India. Our 18, histologically confirmed, patients had a clinical profile similar to that described from developed countries. Delayed diagnosis led to the death of nine patients, usually within days of hospital admission, due to extensive vasculitis and renal failure.

Fulminant hepatic failure and acute intravascular haemolysis as presenting manifestations of Wilson's disease in young children.

The cases of three young children (mean age 5.8 years) in whom fulminant hepatic failure and acute intravascular haemolysis were the presenting manifestations of Wilson's disease are reported. Although diagnosis was made ante-mortem and chelation therapy instituted, the course was relentlessly fatal in all three cases.

Adult onset Still's disease: clinical experience with 18 patients over 15 years in northern India.

Over a 15 year period 18 patients (eight men, 10 women), 16-50 years old, were diagnosed as having adult onset Still's disease. Fever and arthralgia were always present but prominent lymphadenopathy was uncommon and the serosa were rarely affected. The typical rash of this disease was observed in nine patients.