Preoperative assessment of salivary gland neoplasms with fine needle aspiration cytology and echography: a retrospective analysis of 357 cases.

Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a minimally invasive procedure usually well tolerated, easy to perform, quick, cheap and easy to repeat in case of doubts or non-diagnostic results. Echography is also a fast, cheap and non-invasive tool; however, the role of FNAC and echography in the diagnosis of salivary gland pathology is not universally recognised. Three hundred and fifty-seven patients with a cytological diagnosis at FNAC, and 247 of these who were also studied with echography, were enrolled for this retrospective study.

External quality assurance in cervical/vaginal cytology: Interlaboratory agreement in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic agreement between seven cervical/vaginal cytology laboratories participating in the first external quality assurance (EQA) scheme developed in Italy.

Study Design: Between 1991 and 1993, 110 cytologic smears were selected and classified by a committee and circulated and reported on by the laboratories according to the 1988 Bethesda System. Agreement was evaluated with the kappa statistic.

[Globin synthesis in erythroid cultures from normal and thalassemic subjects].

Relative alpha and beta chain synthesis in erythroid bursts derived from human bone marrow and peripheral blood are presented. The biosynthetic ratios obtained are compared with those of the reticulocytes. The data obtained cell culture are similar to the "in vivo" ones, showing and alpha/beta ratio of 1 in normal individuals and higher than 1 in beta thalassemic heterozygous.