A case of intraosseous (central) mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the mandible diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, with the diagnosis confirmed by surgical resection of the tumor is presented. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is the most common histotype of malignant and benign salivary gland tumors, which occasionally arise within the facial bones of mandible and maxilla, besides their ordinary derivation from the major and minor salivary glands of the head and neck regions. This case is unusual in that although tumors of the jaws abound, only rare reports of intraosseous salivary gland-type lesions sampled by FNA exist.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report a case of nodal nevus present in enlarged lymph nodes with changes of dermatopathic lymphadenopathy sampled by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology prior to clinical evaluation of the patient. This lymph node pathology was established later by lymph node excisional biopsy, by which along with a skin biopsy the dermatopathic lymphadenopathy was tentatively attributed to early mycosis fungoides. The FNA revealed fairly atypical melanotic tissue from the dermatopathic lymphadenopathy along with nodules of uniform melanocytic nevoid cells, the presence of which in combination with the dermatopathic atypical tissue provided a tentative diagnosis of metastatic melanoma of unknown primary, with the diagnosis of nodal nevus presented as a less likely possibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrine cytology from ureteral diversions utilizing intestinal segment as reservoir or conduit, constructed during cystectomy performed usually for advanced bladder neoplasia, differs from bladder urine cytology in that the presence of abundant intestinal mucosal cells with degenerative and inflammatory changes interferes with the recognition of other important cellular changes, particularly of recurrent neoplasia in the upper urinary tract, not to mention other less frequent yet note worthy pathologic changes, such as viral type indigenous to the urinary tract. When confronted with diseases involving the intestinal segment, such as viral enteritides, the diagnostic problem becomes more complex and special effort is needed to recognize and characterize them correctly, differentiating them from other pathologies or artifacts seen in such specimens. We report one such case in which viral changes affecting columnar intestinal epithelium were identified and by immunocytochemistry characterized as adenoviral involving primarily cells of the intestinal conduit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdenoid cystic carcinoma of the lower respiratory tract is an uncommon tumor that can arise in the mainstem bronchus and often presents as an endobronchial mass lesion causing bronchial obstruction with post obstructive atelectasis and pneumonia. Exfoliative cytology is seldom useful in the diagnosis of primary bronchial adenoid cystic carcinoma, because these neoplasms usually have a submucosal location with often intact mucosa. Since most endobronchial adenoid cystic carcinomas are endoscopically visible, bronchoscope-guided fine-needle aspiration constitutes an excellent approach to establish a pathologic diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBody adornment through tattooing and body piercing and the use of recreational drugs are on the increase, producing a variety of secondary lesions, the etiology of which often remains undetected, as the medical community is not yet aware of the extent of the morbidity of such procedures and practices. Three cases are presented, which underscore the problem and also the role that fine-needle aspiration (FNA) can play in clarifying the etiology of such lesions. Two of these cases were lymphadenopathies, one secondary to tattooing and the other to tongue piercing, while the third was a deep intranasal lesion, which in all probability had resulted from intranasal use of recreational drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytologic methods have been used in the pathologic investigation of the posterior (vitreous) compartment of the eye in specimens obtained by fine-needle aspiration, as well as by surgical procedures. The vitreous body, which is in a semiliquid gel state, lends itself to pathologic investigation by cytologic methods. We report on a case of reparative eye surgery for complications of previous cataract extraction; vitrectomy was performed for vitreous opacities, which, by cytologic examination, were diagnostic of asteroid hyalosis, a relatively uncommon condition affecting the elderly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour cases of cystitis follicularis diagnosed by urine cytology are presented, and are the first reported in the cytologic literature. Cystitis follicularis (follicular cystitis) is characterized by formation of lymphoid follicles in the lamina propria of the trigonal region of the bladder, and is considered to be the result of repeated bouts of urinary tract infection, usually bacterial, with other pathologic processes contributing to the development and prolongation of the infection. Cytologically it differs from chronic cystitis with prominent lymphocytosis by the presence of cellular elements from the germinal centers of lymphoid follicles, reminiscent of the cytologic findings in follicular cervicitis, with possible additional epithelial cytologic atypias from the overlying urothelium, which frequently undergoes reactive changes (hyperplastic, metaplastic, and ulcerative).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagn Cytopathol
November 2001
A case of thoracic splenosis diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of subpleural lung lesions is presented. The patient, a 49-yr-old male with a history of gunshot wound to his trunk with splenic rupture and splenectomy several years previously, presented with recent hemoptysis and multiple subpleural solid nodules shown in the left lung field by CT scan. As the possibility of a metastatic malignancy vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe case of a 22-yr-old male who after a brief febrile episode developed autoimmune hemolytic anemia and right pulmonary infiltrate with pleural effusion is presented. Cytologic examination of the pleural fluid revealed lymphocytosis and hemophagocytosis, primarily of red blood cells (RBCs) by mature histiocytes. There was accompanying splenomegaly, laboratory evidence of hepatic dysfunction, and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagn Cytopathol
May 2001
We report on a 68-yr-old male with a destructive bone lesion involving the temporal bone at the skull base extending to surrounding osseous structures and the infratemporal fossa, defined by needle aspiration cytology as carcinoma in association with inflammatory reaction, bacterial type, and bone destruction. The technique of the aspiration, which was performed by a cytopathologist directing a spinal needle into the region of the destroyed temporal bone as outlined in the radiographs of prior magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is discussed. The application of this technique in the cytologic sampling of deeper lesions usually of soft or osseous tissues not accessible to ordinary fine-needle aspiration is presented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagn Cytopathol
September 2000
Two cases of carotid body paragangliomas sampled by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology prior to other medical diagnostic studies are presented. In the first case, the presence of an ipsilateral ulcerative lesion of the nasopharynx along with pronounced atypia of the specimen posed a challenge to the correct cytologic interpretation, which was initially sidetracked in favor of a metastatic epithelial lesion. In the second case, a tumor mass of unusually large size and extension which included the pharynx, coupled with a large amount of profusely hemorrhagic aspirate, presented a diagnostic problem, which was overcome by processing part of the specimen as a cell block, which by its histologic and immunochemical features provided a definitive pathologic diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagn Cytopathol
September 2000
The fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) findings in two cases of hemangiopericytoma (HP), arising in the parotid gland and on the inner chest wall, respectively, are reported. Smear preparations in each case showed cytologic features of an undifferentiated spindle-cell neoplasm, whereas a core needle biopsy specimen of the chest wall mass showed a spindle-cell tumor with a "staghorn-like" arrangement of endothelium-lined vascular channels. Immunostains performed on this core biopsy, and on the surgical resection specimens in both cases, showed positive staining of tumor cells for vimentin and CD34, with negative staining for a variety of smooth muscle, epithelial, neural, and neuroendocrine markers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe majority of ovarian sex cord tumors with annular tubules (SCTAT) are benign neoplasms that arise sporadically. In patients who have Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS), ovarian SCTAT is often an incidental finding. Malignant behavior in SCTAT has heretofore been reported only in sporadic cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRemnants of the branchial apparatus can produce lesions in the head and neck region in later life, often amenable to fine-needle aspiration (FNA) diagnosis. Yet such remnants or rudimentary lesions can remain clinically undetected and can later interfere with the cytologic interpretation of other deep lesions of the neck, as the present case demonstrates. In this case the lesion, which by a subsequent resection turned out to be a neurilemmoma, had been adequately sampled by the FNA, yet the cytologic diagnosis was sidetracked by the presence in the specimen of immature squamous epithelial tissue fragments and other elements (multinucleated histiocytes, calcifications), on the basis of which the diagnosis of an epithelial lesion, likely malignant, was made.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo cases of toxoplasma lymphadenitis diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, in which the microorganisms were identified in the cytologic preparations, are presented. The first case was that of an 8-yr-old boy with bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy of 2-mo duration, in which an FNA specimen of one of the lymph nodes in a Papanicolaou-stained smear disclosed a toxoplasma cyst, and in Wright-Giemsa preparation, dispersed tachyzoites and a pseudocyst. The second case was that of a 52-yr-old man with enlargement of a single lymph node in the neck, of 3-mo duration, FNA of which in Wright-Giemsa preparation disclosed numerous tachyzoites dispersed free in exudate, and also within cells, forming pseudocysts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagn Cytopathol
February 1999
A case of lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis initially diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology and confirmed by tissue biopsy and culture study is presented. Asteroid bodies and yeast cells with budding, highly suggestive of the disease, were seen in the cytologic and histologic preparations. The pathology of this unusual fungal disease and the role of cytology in the diagnosis are discussed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To define the composition of cytoplasmic inclusions forming stacks and concentric whorls in histiocytes and mesothelial cells of serous fluids, imparting to them a resemblance to Gaucher cells, and to draw conclusions on the mechanism of their formation.
Study Design: Three serous fluids (one pleural and two pericardial) containing a fair number of the cells referred to were progressively subjected to the following studies: (1) cytochemistry for mucopolysaccharides, proteins, phospholipids and hemoglobin; (2) immunocytochemistry for immunoglobulins IgA, IgG, IgM and lysozyme; (3) transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and (4) scanning electron microscopy-based energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDAX).
Results: All three specimens were blood stained and contained large numbers of histiocytes and mesothelial cells, arranged singly and in groups, with abundant cytoplasmic inclusions.
Objective: To explore the mechanisms of formation of nuclear protrusions (NPs) encountered in cytologic specimens and specifically the possibility of their being the result of an aberrant division of the cell and to determine how widespread the NP phenomenon is in cells from various tissues.
Study Design: Six hundred fifty-four cervical smears out of 5,000 with abundant cervical columnar epithelium examined were found to have many cells with NPs (group A). These cells were studied: (A) by light microscopy to define the structure and stages of formation of NPs, (B) by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), (C) by tubulin immunostaining for detection of mitotic spindle-associated microtubular structures, (D) by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) utilizing X chromosome probes to monitor chromosomal movement into NPs, and (E) by direct fluorescence microscopy to examine autofluorescence patterns in cells with NPs.
Background: Histoplasma capsulatum infection in adults is most often subclinical but can result in disseminated disease with weight loss, fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and oropharyngeal ulcerations. Genital ulceration as the presenting sign of the disease has been reported rarely.
Case: A 63-year-old woman presented with multiple vaginal ulcerations due to chronic disseminated H capsulatum infection.
We report on a case of a 68-yr-old man with secondary syphilis diagnosed by biopsy of skin lesions, who concomitantly suffered from left lower lobe pneumonia with associated pleuritis. Cytologic examination of the pleural fluid was diagnostic of syphilis, not only by the characteristic cytomorphology but also by demonstration of spirochetes by the May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG) and Steiner staining methods. This suggests that the pneumonia was also syphilitic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytologic findings in a case of non-familial tumoral calcinosis are described. These include abundant calcific amorphous deposits, mononuclear histiocytes, osteoclast-type multinucleated giant cells, and fragments of tissue consisting of osteoblast-type cells with atypical epithelial-like features mimicking an epithelial malignancy. This is the first reported case describing the cellular morphology of tumoral calcinosis in an FNA specimen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCrystals consisting by light microscopy of organic matrix (matrix crystals) encountered in cytologic urine specimens of 8 patients were examined for mineral phase components by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDX) and by morphologic scanning electron microscopy (SEM) performed separately in four of the eight cases. Whenever possible (three cases) mineralized crystals present in these specimens were examined separately by SEM-EDX for comparison of mineral phase composition with that of the corresponding matrix forms. Although by SEM-EDX components of matrix, glass and slide preparation media interfere with the precise estimation of the mineral phase components, the results of this method supported by the SEM morphology suggest that crystals consisting of organic matrix include a mineral phase, the lattice structure of which provides them from the early stages of formation with the characteristic morphology of the fully mineralized forms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology was performed in seven cases of fibromatosis of variable types with tumorous clinical presentation. These included: four cases of musculoaponeurotic fibromatosis, two in posterior neck muscles, one in anterior neck muscles and one in intercostal muscles; one case of fibromatosis of the breast; and two cases of fibromatosis colli in neonates. In all cases the specimens contained connective tissue with many fibroblast-like cells, lacking features which could indicate a malignant lesion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
December 1991
A study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of brush cytology as a diagnostic tool for lesions of the head and neck. Brush specimens were obtained from patients for whom surgical biopsy was recommended by the Otolaryngology Service of the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals, Galveston. Specimens were interpreted independently by three cytologists, and interobserver variability was calculated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytomegalovirus (CMV) cytologic changes were found in a routine cervical smear of a 21-yr-old HIV-negative woman, 4 wk post partum. The CMV changes were associated with columnar cervical epithelium. The case is reported because of the rarity of such an occurrence in cervical smears.
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