The anatomy of a collection.

An old collection of 81 congenitally malformed hearts was examined in detail using the system of sequential segmental analysis. The specimens were almost entirely from infants and young children who had died during the two decades between 1954 and 1973. There had been surgical intervention in 26 cases, and most of these patients died during or shortly after the operation.

Scleredema diabeticorum of Buschke confined to the thighs.

We describe a patient with insulin-dependent diabetes without vascular complications in whom scleredema was confined to the thighs. Electron microscopy demonstrated heterogeneity in both the size and density of the collagen fibrils and the presence of filamentous material between them.

HIV seropositivity in association with pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta.

We describe a case of PLEVA in an asymptomatic, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patient. This association has not been previously described. The possible mechanisms involved are discussed.

Cicatricial pemphigoid and carcinoma of the pancreas.

Carcinoma of the pancreas has been associated with both cicatricial and bullous pemphigoid. We report a case of a 53-year-old man with cicatricial pemphigoid who died within months of the diagnosis from metastatic pancreatic-carcinoma. All three reported cases were complicated by venous thrombosis, a well recognized but uncommon feature of pancreatic cancer.

Erythema elevatum diutinum--a solitary lesion in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

Erythema elevatum diutinum is a rare disease of unknown aetiology. It is usually symmetrical with multiple lesions. An association with rheumatoid has previously been reported.

North American blastomycosis in Africans.

Two young adults, one a native of Libya and one a Sudanese from Saudi Arabia, were referred at different times to the chest service at Westminister Hospital in London with a diagnosis of tuberculosis. They both had neurological deficits due to vertebral lesions. In spite of the fact that neither patient had ever been to North America, diagnoses of North American blastomycosis were established; both patients made remarkable recoveries on amphotericin B therapy.

Transitional mucosa and survival in human colorectal cancer.

The mucosa in 100 segments of colon and rectum resected for cancer were examined using light microscopy and histochemical techniques. The extent of abnormal or transitional mucosa was defined for each case. Transitional mucosa was present in 93 of 95 adenocarcinomas and one malignant melanoma.

Pancreatic oncofoetal antigen (POA): its frequency and localisation in humans.

Pancreatic oncofoetal antigen (POA) has been isolated by affinity chromatography and used to standardise an immunoassay. POA was detected in foetal serum and in 97% of sera from 75 patients with carcinoma of the pancreas. Raised levels were also found in 16% of sera from 43 patients with chronic pancreatitis and in 3 of 156 patients with related conditions.