Pharmacognostical evaluation of caesalpinia sappan heartwood

Caesalpinia sappan heartwood is used in folklore in India. The present work attempts to summarize the pharmacognostical characters of the heartwood of this plant. Ash and extractive values; phytochemical tests, HPTLC and fluorescence analysis were carried out. The present work contributes to establishment of the standardization parameters of this medicinally effective heartwood

Tumours and tumour-like conditions of the para-testicular region--a study of morphological features.

Twenty two patients with tumours or tumour-like conditions of the para-testicular region (PTR) were diagnosed over a 5 year period. Of these, 16 (73%) were benign with only one true neoplasm (papillary cystadenoma). The tumour-like conditions were comprised of 6 cases of adenomatous hyperplasia of epididymis, 4 cases of spermatic granuloma, 2 cases each of spermatocele and nodular-fibrous proliferation and one mesothelial cyst. Three patients with spermatic granuloma gave a history of trauma. No case of adenomatoid tumour was encountered. Six malignant neoplasms were diagnosed (27%) all of which were sarcomas. Five were primary to the PTR and one was a metastatic deposit from a primary leiomyoblastoma of the mesentery. Among the 5 primary sarcomas were 2 cases each of rhabdomyosarcoma and leiomyosarcoma, and 1 case of liposarcoma. The patient with leiomyoblastoma presented first with a measenteric mass which was followed a month later by a rapidly growing mass in the scrotum. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) and Electron microscopy (EM) were done in this case. Intra-cytoplasmic myofilaments as well as desmosomes were observed. The patients ranged from 14 to 65 years of age and most presented with painless mass in the scrotum. Follow-up was not possible due to practical difficulties.

Langerhans cell histocytosis--a clinicopathological spectrum.

Langerhans cell Histiocytosis--a lesion characterised by proliferation of a variant of epidermal dendritic cell is one of the several syndromes in which histiocytes play a principal role in pathogenesis outside the context of inflammatory and metabolic storage disease. Seven cases were diagnosed as Langerhans cell Histiocytosis over a period of six years. The mode of diagnosis was Fine needle aspiration in 2 cases, open biopsy in four, and both biopsy and FNAC in one. The age range was from 2 months to 58 years and four of the seven patients were males. The lesion was unifocal in 3 cases (two in bone and one involving skin and soft tissue), multifocal in 3 and systemic in one. Electron microscopy was done in one case to demonstrate Birbeck granules. Immunohistochemical demonstration of S 100 protein was done in one case. The clinicopathologic spectrum of Langerhans cell Histiocytosis is brought out in this presentation of seven cases.