Acta pathologica et microbiologica Scandinavica. Section A, Pathology最新文献

Autopsy findings in a 55-year old man known to have been occupationally heavily exposed to titanium dioxide dust showed extensive pulmonary deposition of white pigment. By energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and electron and X-ray diffraction, the pigment was identified as rutile. By ordinary transmitted light microscopy, deposits of the white crystalline titanium-dioxide could not be distinguished from anthracotic pigment present in the lung sections. By transmitted polarized and incident light microscopy, the different nature of the two types of pigment was immediately evident. Absence of inflammatory and fibrotic changes in the lungs in our case lends support to the view that rutile is biochemically inert.

The histological distribution of receptors for the lectins Wheat germ (WGA). Ricinus communis I (RCA I) and Soybean (SBA) was examined in ameloblastomas and normal oral mucosa from 12 patients. The study utilized fluorescein-conjugated WGA, RCA I and SBA. Cell-membrane bound receptors for these 3 lectins were demonstrated in the spinous cell layer of the normal oral mucosa. WGA and RCA I receptors were also located in the basal cell layer, whereas SBA receptors were not detectable there. Cell-membrane bound WGA receptors were shown in the epithelial cells of the ameloblastomas. Titrations showed significant differences in staining reactivity related to the morphology of the peripheral epithelial cells of the ameloblastomas. The distribution of RCA I and SBA receptors in the peripheral cells was also related to the morphology of these cells and was independent of the histological types of the tumours. It is suggested that the distribution of these receptors is related to cellular activities such as cell differentiation and cell migration in the tumour and therefore possibly reflects the biological behavior of the tumours.

Malignant tumours of the kidney occurring in Iceland during the year 1955-1974 were studied pathologically and typed histologically according to a classification proposed, but not yet published, by the World Health Organisation. Histological material was available from 89.2% and 84.0% of registered male and female patients respectively. Among males, renal cell carcinomas constituted 91.8%, transitional pelvic carcinomas 5.5% and nephroblastomas 2.7% of classified tumours. The corresponding figures for females were renal cell carcinomas 96.7%, transitional pelvic carcinomas 0.8%, and nephroblastomas 2.5%. The most frequent cell type of renal cell carcinoma group in both sexes was the combination of clear and granular cells, and the most frequent architecture was the combination of solid and tubular patterns. Renal cell carcinomas composed of pure granular cells were found in 22% of males and in 14% of females, and granular cells in combinations with all other cell types were also more common in males. In Iceland renal cell carcinoma is the fifth commonest malignant tumour in males and the tenth in females. The excess of granular cell tumours among males corresponds roughly to, and may account for, the sex difference in the frequency of renal cell carcinomas.

All primary tumours from the upper respiratory tract and ear submitted for a histological diagnosis in Iceland during the 20 years, 1955-1974, were reviewed and typed according to the World Health Organization Classification published in 1978. The series included 83 benign and 114 malignant tumours from the upper respiratory tract. The nasal cavity was the commonest site for benign tumours in both sexes, most being squamous cell and transitional papillomas. The larynx was the commonest site for malignant tumours in males, all being squamous cell carcinomas, and the paranasal sinuses and the nasopharynx in females, squamous cell carcinoma forming the largest group in the sinuses and undifferentiated carcinoma in the nasopharynx. The distribution of tumours in the nasal cavity and sinuses differed much between the two sites and between the sexes, which emphasizes that these two sites should be separated and not combined as they have been until recently in epidemiological reports and cancer registries. A relatively high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Iceland may be due to a high consumption of salted food. A rising incidence of laryngeal carcinoma is believed to be related to the use of tobacco and alcohol and is of special concern owing to its marked rise in young females.

A clinical, light and electron microscopic study of four patients with angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia of the skin is presented. Light-microscopically, the lesions were characterized by the small size and superficial location, the proliferation of mostly delicate vessels with prominent endothelial hyperplasia and cellular areas without distinct vessel structures, but with infiltrates of eosinophilic leukocytes, lymphocytes and plasma cells. Ultrastructurally, a marked proliferation of both endothelial cells and pericytes could be demonstrated and the solid cellular areas were shown to be composed of solid vascular buds. A multi-layered basal lamina was enclosing pericytes and external surfaces of endothelial cells. The differential diagnosis is discussed and it is emphasized that this lesion may be misinterpreted as angiosarcoma.