The birth of the clinicopathological method in France: the rise of morbid anatomy in France during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Morbid anatomy underwent extraordinary development in Paris during the last years of the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century, for both philosophical and political reasons. The protagonists of this progress were primarily clinicians whose purpose was to link symptoms with pathological lesions and to elaborate a pertinent nosology. Pierre-Joseph Desault and Jean-Nicolas Corvisart were the forerunners, along with Xavier Bichat, a genius who died before he was able to realize his full potential.

Pleomorphic hyalinizing angiectatic tumor of soft parts: ultrastructural analysis of a case with original features.

Pleomorphic hyalinizing angiectatic tumor, a rare neoplasm of uncertain lineage resembling malignant fibrous histiocytoma and schwannoma, was first described in 1996 by M. E. F.

Non-alcoholic duct destructive chronic pancreatitis: a histological, immunohistochemical and in-situ apoptosis study of 18 cases.

Aims: To assess retrospectively pancreatic changes in non-alcoholic duct-destructive chronic pancreatitis and to investigate the role of apoptosis in duct destruction.

Methods And Results: Eighteen patients (mean age 46 years, nine women and nine men) underwent pancreatic resection for suspected pancreatic tumour and were diagnosed as having non-alcoholic duct-destructive chronic pancreatitis. We performed a morphological study either semiquantitatively (fibrosis and inflammation) or quantitatively (CD3+ intraepithelial lymphocytes, M30 and TUNEL+ apoptotic cells).

[Heterotopic mesenteric ossification: a rare cause of postoperative occlusion].

Intraabdominal heterotopic ossification is a very rare lesion, especially in the mesentery. In all reported series, there was a history of traumatic injury of the abdomen. We report two cases of heterotopic mesenteric ossification occurring after laparotomy in adults.

Intraneural reticular perineurioma of the neck.

Perineuriomas are infrequent tumors that may be intraneural or extraneural in soft tissue with no apparent relation with a nerve. Some cases of soft tissue perineurioma may have a retiform pattern, but this pattern has not been described to date in intraneural perineurioma. We report a case of a unique perineurioma arising in a nerve of the neck that had a distinctive reticular pattern and was intraneural.

Granular cell tumor of the palate: a case report.

Granular cell tumor (GCT) is an infrequent benign neoplasm, which Abrikosoff accurately described in 1926. GCT probably has a neural crest cell origin. We present the clinical and imaging findings in a 45-year-old woman with a GCT involving the palate.

Endometrial stromal sarcoma of the rectosigmoid colon arising in extragonadal endometriosis and revealed by portal vein thrombosis.

Malignant transformation is an infrequent complication of endometriosis. The ovary is the primary site in 76% of cases, and extragonadal sites are identified in 24%. Endometrioid carcinoma is the most common histologic type; sarcoma is very rare.

[Cellular angiofibroma. A rare vulvar tumor. Report of a case].

Cellular angiofibroma is a rare tumor. We report a vulvar case in a 37 year old woman. This nodular, well circonscribed tumor consists of bland spindle cells, numerous thin or thick often hyalinized vessels and adipocytes.

Benign schwannoma of the digestive tract: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of five cases, including a case of esophageal tumor.

We report five cases of schwannomas of the digestive tract. The patients were two men and three women, whose ages ranged from 56 to 74 years. Three cases arose in the stomach, one in the ascending colon, and one in the esophagus; the latter was a hitherto unreported location for this tumor.

[Mixed corticomedullary tumor].

Background: Pheochromocytoma and primary hyperaldosteronism rarely occur simultaneously. Few cases have been reported in the literature.

Case Report: A patient explored for hypertension was found to have hypokalemia related to primary hyperaldosteronism.

[Thyroid insular carcinoma].

This review article illustrates the several histological and immunohistochemical patterns of thyroid insular carcinoma and their associated disease. Differential diagnosis are also discussed. Poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas are overviewed.

[Retiform hemangioendothelioma].

Hemangioendotheliomas are vascular tumors of intermediate malignancy considered as low-grade angiosarcomas. The authors report two cases of a distinctive type, named retiform hemangioendothelioma because of its particular morphologic features, and recently delineated by Calonje and al. This tumor of the skin recurs frequently but has a very low metastatic rate.

[Imaging of ORL diseases in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome].

More than 50% of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) present a lesion affecting parotid gland, lymph nodes, paranasal sinuses, pharyngo-larynx or temporal bone. In about 20% out of cases affected patients present different head and neck lesions at the time of evaluation. Most often, clinical examination and endoscopy are sufficient to perform diagnosis and to manage the disease.

Solitary fibrous tumor of the adrenal gland.

Solitary fibrous tumors are rare neoplasms, most commonly involving the pleura, recently described in various other locations. We report a solitary fibrous tumor of the right adrenal gland in a 42-year-old woman, discovered incidentally during abdominopelvic ultrasonographic examination. Pathologic and immunohistologic features of the tumor were identical to those of other solitary fibrous tumors.

[Tumor of the peripheral nerve sheath with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation arising in a ganglioneuroma: neurilemmoma? A fortuitously detected case].

An otherwise healthy 21-year-old man with no evidence or family history of Von Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis presented a posterior mediastinal mass detected on routine chest radiographs. The findings of standard light microscopy, ultrastructural examination and immunohistochemical studies suggested the working hypothesis of an unusual malignant "Triton" tumour: -arising in a pre-existing de novo ganglioneuroma; -fortuitously detected; -predominantly made of multinucleated spindle cells with only ultrastructural and immunohistochemical rhabdomyoblastic differentiation.

[Primary leiomyosarcoma of bone: a clinico-pathologic and immunohistochemical study of 3 cases].

Primary leiomyosarcoma of bone is rare. Herein we describe 3 cases with immunohistochemical study. All 3 cases were positive for smooth muscle actin and/or desmin.

[Atypical decubitus fibroplasia: a recent entity. Apropos of a case of an adolescent girl].

Atypical decubital fibroplasia (FAD) occurs especially in elderly and physically debilited or immobilized patients. We report one observation which is peculiar due to the patient's young age and its circumstances. The painless mass is situated in hyperpressure areas (shoulder, posterior or lateral chest wall, sacrum).

[Rare tumors of the prostate or seminal vesicles. Report of a case of leiomyosarcoma].

An unusual case of leiomyosarcoma of the prostate presented as a recurrent pelvic cystic mass. Prostatic sarcoma are rare in adults with a poor prognosis. It is often difficult to determine a definite origin.